Single Ninja on the Town
by Arkhe
Summary: “The Single Male Shinobi Guide to woo the Kunoichi of their Dreams.” Naruto read the title out aloud. “Hmm...” .:Additional summary within:. [COMPLETE!]
1. Foreword: i

**Additional Summary:**  
Jiraiya witnesses Naruto's terrible luck with women, and lo and behold! He takes it upon himself to give Naruto a work-in-progress manual to have his student learn the ways to woo the kunoichi of his dreams!  
Comedy ensues as just about every other female shinobi is enamored with Naruto except the one he dedicated himself to.

* * *

**Warning:**  
COPYRIGHT: In Soviet Russia, you own Naruto. Over here, Naruto owns you.

_Kunoichi_ means _female ninja.  
Shinobi _is an interchangeable term for _ninja._  
Apologies for their use. Since _ninja_ is a japanese word, I employed similar words to not over use it.

* * *

A blond, orange-clad boy picked himself off the ground and gave himself a quick pat down. Each soft clap of an open hand on fabric let off a puff of dust -only stopping once he felt satisfied enough of his relative cleanliness. However, his impromptu clean up and the remaining dirt that clung to him was proof enough of another rejection from his dear Sakura-chan. 

"Damn it!" Uzumaki Naruto swore, kicking at a (absolute) defenseless pebble and sending it to the curb. "Why won't Sakura-chan like me!-? Atleast I treat her better than that jerk, Sasuke!" He ranted to himself.

Suddenly there was a puff of smoke and a man had seemingly appeared next to Naruto (-in truth, he'd merely snuck in whilst the smoke afforded him the luxury of 'appearing'). The man's aged appearance and worn, stale-white clothing gave him the outward appearance of a Sage. However, everyone that knew of this man also knew a more appropriate name for him...

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at said man.

_Pervert-hermit_ indeed.

The man; Jiraiya, one of the renowned _Three Legendary Ninjas_, had grit his teeth upon hearing the name his student had adopted for him. However, instead of promptly reprimanding the boy, he ignored it in favour of the more important news that he was about to impart.

"Naruto..." Jiraiya started solemnly, making sure said boy would pick up on the serious tone.

The aforementioned Naruto quickly took note of the attitude in their conversation and so forced himself to focus in taking great care to hear his teacher's next worldly advice. Jiraiya may have been one to spout nonsense -especially when concerning matters of the flesh, but he was still a pretty darn good teacher (when it counted) and an even better ninja.

"I had seen your dismal performance just now." Jiraiya continued.

Naruto wracked his brains. He had conjured Kakashi-sensei's latest training exercise that was inconjunction with a mission, but he didn't think he did that bad. It was D-rank after all and most D-rank missions didn't even require brain activity.

"Training wasn't that bad, Ero-sennin." Naruto defended himself with a shrug.

"I didn't mean your training, Naruto!" With a closed fist, Jiraiya bopped the young boy on the head, who flinched and rubbed the sore spot. "I meant your technique." The white-haired man pointed out, striking out a pose of one pointing towards the sky and beyond.

"My technique...?" Naruto wondered what in the world the old man was talking about. Had he gone senile? Correction: more senile?

"Yes. In fact, I've more-or-less written a manual to help you out." Jiraiya reached into his robes and retrieved a worn book. "Though it's unfinished, I'm sure it ought to cover a hopeless cause like you. You'll definitely find a use for it." The frog sage stated, handing the book over to Naruto.

Naruto accepted it with open arms, completely excited at the premise. The book clearly looked like a sort of proto-type. Weathered-looking, leather-bound, scratchy pages, no title... Who knows what kind of impressionable wonders this book could hold...?

Then Naruto opened the book.  
**

* * *

**

**Single Ninja on the Town.**  
_"The Single Male Shinobi Guide to Woo the Kunoichi of Their Dreams."  
_By Arkhe

**

* * *

**  
Naruto read the title aloud. 

"Hmmm..."

---

It was the end of the day when one dead-tired Uzumaki Naruto burst through his own apartment door. He'd been rejected by his teammate and love-interest Haruno Sakura no less than 8 times today. A new daily record if he ever bothered counting tabs. Taking a seat at the kitchen table, he sighed audibly, lamenting if he only knew what he was doing wrong...

Then he'd happened to eye his paperweight for the pile of open scrolls he'd left there earlier. In fact, a handful of days earlier.

The paperweight had been Jiraiya's _'training' _manual.

Thinking back to when he'd received it and read the cover, the blond-haired ninja recalled the pervert-hermit had gone on to claim that this guide would help shinobi men everywhere with their love lives. However, when the elderly ninja was on his way to have the book edited, he had witnessed his own student's poor and lacking ability in these matters, and thus he being the (self-proclaimed) generous and venerable master, took it upon himself to give his student the beta copy, so as to benefit from the experience before other shinobi males take their chances.

Obviously Naruto didn't take well to the idea of a manual being written by a pervert and thus the book had received its appointed paperweight status. 

"Heh. I found a use for your book alright." Naruto snickered, enjoying the private joke to himself.

Then he tore his eyes away and had his head propped up by an arm focusing on more pressing recent matters at hand -like say: what's for dinner. However, his imagination had decided to interfere...

A brief day-dream of eyebrows reading the book and suddenly having Sakura by his side had Naruto gasp aloud. In fact, the idea had been so disturbing that when the blond member of Team 7 woke from his lapse, allowing his eyes to focus on the item solely in his field of vision. Somehow, whilst his mind wandered, his gaze unconsciously retraced itself back to the weary book.

On seeing it, Sakura-chan's smiling face briefly flitted his thoughts.

But Naruto looked away.

Ero-sennin was not to be trusted with matters of the heart! Look where it got him! A lonely perverted old man! And to think he wrote a book on love! Utterly ridiculous!

It was only after the 9th unconscious staring, did Naruto reach over to satisfy his curiousity.

Though Jiraiya did write a book on love, therein lay a piece of logic the Uzumaki male couldn't counter. Considering the older man's terrible luck with women in the first place, in theory, it would work well to do the opposite of what the pervert did...

So Naruto opened the book. Turning to the page after the title, he found an Index.

**

* * *

**

**Foreword...i  
Impressions...Ch 01  
Attitude...Ch 02  
Training...Ch 03  
Gifts...Ch 04  
Dating...Ch 05  
**_(an unreadable hastily crossed out sentence)_  
**Final Word...ii**

**

* * *

**  
Surprised that his teacher went through the trouble of even including a list of contents, Naruto had to ponder if his teacher really does think his material to be good enough to publish AND possibly aid others in (Jiraiya's words) 'their as-of-yet unsuccessful love-lives'. 

"Oh well, I don't think I got trouble with the rest this stuff. I'll just skip right to dating..." Naruto said aloud to himself. Thinking that he knew more than enough to do for Sakura, the whiskered male figured he warranted the right to the chapter he'd likely need help in.

Flipping volumes of pages aside, he'd just missed the _'Dating'_ chapter and started back tracking when he halted in mid-turn.

Biting his lower-lip, Naruto's shaky hand closed the book.

Ermm... There were additional chapters that his teacher didn't list (or rather did, but was in a hurry to cover up). Stuff that comes after dating... Stuff that comes when he's older...

Naruto quickly shook his head to clear it of the weird things he'd seen. "Okaaaaay..." Naruto held the book at arms length, like he'd done to that Madam Shijimi's _darlingly insanely rabid_ pet cat. Then he opened it to a random page that wasn't past the dating chapter.

A sigh of relief.

There weren't any out of place fan-service images. In fact, the other pages were illustrated appropriately for their chapters.

"Let's start from the start then." Naruto resolutely decided. "If the start isn't good, then I can give the book back and tell him to make it less like himself."

**

* * *

**

**Foreword...i**

_In this day and age, the regular male shinobi is considered to be a heartless tool._

_But this is a falsehood! The regular male shinobi must hold close their glass-heart lest they will be overwhelmed! It is because of this reason, that they need an equally strong female shinobi to keep them strong and be able to keep up with them!_

_And so, comes this guide... _

_Though aimed at the male ninja audience, this is a solemn reminder that __male and female shinobi should know that life is precious and that everything shouldn't be taken lightly. __Only through trial and error, hardship and experience, will shinobi eventually learn the three unsaid laws. But since love is fleeting and most reverently desired in youth, thus the rules shall be repeated here so that others may not realise it too late._

_Live to Learn. Learn to Love. Love to Live._

_Hold close to these three ideals, for this does not only apply to male shinobi, but also kunoichi. __All ninja have the same needs, hopes, realities and dreams and will need these three rules to catch a kunoichi to never let go.  
_

**

* * *

**  
"Imagine that." Naruto scratched at his chin. "The old pervert sounds like he knows what he's talking about." 

He paused on the page and ran a single finger down the opening paragraph, stopping at a certain point.

"Live to Learn, Learn to Love and Love to Live." Naruto murmured.

He turned the page.

_**End Prologue**_

* * *

_All ninja have the same needs, hopes, realities and dreams and will need these three rules to catch a koi to never let go.  
_Did you catch the change? This was really a pun, but most people wouldn't understand it and I didn't want to put in unnecessary japanese either. (Koi means either _carp_ or _love_ depending on how it's used.) Atleast, I hope I spelt it correctly. 

I wanted to use _'Live to Learn, Learn to Love and Love to Live'_ as a derivative for the title... But I realised that it sounded more romance-y and not humorous.

**Author's notes:  
**Well, well. I had this idea a short while back. It certainly requires less effort than _Fox Identity_, that's for sure. If you're wondering about the table of contents in Jiraiya's manual is going to be parallel to the contents of this fic, then yes. This fic will be a total of 7 parts: this prologue, 5 chapters (one for each girl) and an epilogue.

Oh, just to be sure, this is going to hint at:  
_Naru x Hina/Ino/Ten/Tema/Saku_

I'll just make it clear that this isn't really a harem fic. Harem fic implies alot of things which this fic will go through, but I assure you you'll notice the difference at the end.

**Feedback, constructive criticism and flames welcomed.**  
Thank you.

_Uploaded: August 9th, 2005.  
First Revision: October 19th, 2005.  
Second Revision: January 19th, 2006.  
Third Revision: August 3rd, 2006.  
_


	2. Chapter 1: Impressions

**Chapter 1 ... Impressions**

_First impressions are very important. In fact, first impressions can be the whole determining factor in starting a relationship. Anything less than impressed and it would instantly be a tough road._

_Now the maximum effect to achieve a first impression can be done a number of ways. But here's the biggest main point for the single ninja..._

-The flashy entrance!  
_Use something awe-inspiring, breath-taking and generally all-round explosive when introducing yourself! The male happens to be a shinobi and should have a vast array of skills to take advantage of!_

_Then follow it up with ninja talk! Types of weapons preferred, blood limits, techniques... ANYTHING!_

_REMEMBER! First impressions are VERY important!_

* * *

"Hmm..." Naruto had paused to consider the chapter and take a sip of his milk. However, a mere glance at the clock had him spray that milk all over the table. 

"I'M LATE!"

* * *

DISCLAIMER: In Soviet Russia, you own Naruto. Over here, Naruto owns you. 

**Single Ninja on the Town  
**By Arkhe  
**Chapter 1 :** Impressions  
**Subtitle -** Hinata's Prerogative

* * *

"Yo." 

Sakura was going to point her finger at her teacher and proclaim him late when she felt that something was odd. The sun hadn't reached the apex it normally was when Kakashi usually arrived. So she glanced at her watch.

"You're..." She halted unbelievingly.

"You're..." She tried again.

Kakashi gave a wave of his hand in a gesture for her to continue and then returned to politely waiting patiently.

"You're on time!" She remarked, unable to believe her own words.

Sasuke even sat up, unbelievingly.

"Relatively on time!" The pink-haired genin corrected herself.

The statement rang true! Team 7's eternally late jounin teacher had been (nearly) on time for once! Only this euphoric realisation did not become a cause for celebration when Kakashi only found two-thirds of his team present.

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi glanced this way and that, an eye searched for a particular painfully bright set of colors ever found on a ninja.

The female rookie scanned around wondering that too.

---

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

It was a rhythmic tapping of her foot, otherwise an extension of Sakura's sorely pushed patience.

**Tap tap tap**

Her brows furrowed just as her scowled deepened. The rhythm had steadily increased.

**Taptaptaptap**

The tapping was now as incessant as a woodpecker.

_Silence. _

The calm before the storm.

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?-!"

Kakashi said nothing, though his visible eye had been trained on a certain location in the distance.

Then there was an incoming blur.

The jounin's hand flashed and had caught 'it' in midair. 'It' happened to be a kunai with a smoke bomb attached. Sakura's eyes had widened at the sight of it, Sasuke raised an eyebrow in curiousity and Kakashi had been unfazed but blinked in virtual interest. Once the smoke started to spread, the teacher tossed the distraction to the ground.

It was probably a ridiculous sight that a crowd of Naruto shadow replications had marched through the smoke with the real Naruto lying spread-eagle on top of them. The only thing missing would have been some fan fare with trumpets and a catchy beat.

The remainder of Team 7 could not find the will to say anything, as the crowd had deposited Naruto safely and soundly before disappearing in their own puffs of smoke. It was at this time that all the smoke dispersed and Naruto posed, catching the sun's rays just right.

"Hey guys!" He exclaimed dramatically, teeth, hair and clothes sparkling under the sun. .

"YOU'RE LATE!"  
"As is expected of the dead-last."  
"You're later than I am, Naruto."

All sentiments rang out at the same time. Though varied in their volume, it was clear that their amused and annoyed enthusiasm was on the same level.

Naruto gave a disheartened look to Sakura who apparently didn't find his entrance to be a big deal. In fact, she looked downright angry.

He quickly shifted his gaze to the other member of Team 7. Sasuke merely glared, but a hint of an amused smirk lined his face. It wasn't an expression that said _'I'm laughing with you'_ per se, more alike _'I'm laughing at you'_.

Naruto shot a glare back before settling on Kakashi warily. It came as quite the surprise that his teacher had managed to show up early. Well, admittedly earlier than later. Or actually, earlier than himself!

So Naruto did the only thing he could think he could do.

He told the truth.

"I was reading a book and lost track of time." He explained to his team, scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion.

"LIAR!"  
"Idiot."  
"I totally understand where you're coming from."

This time, the replies weren't so simultaneous.

Sakura adapted a heated stare and Sasuke only gave a passing look at their teacher. However, the moment of distaste gave way and both genin shifted their attention back on Naruto again.

Sakura folded her arms, disbelieving of the blond boy's admission. "I'd believe that from anyone but you! I bet you went and gorged on ramen!" She accused, searching for tell-tale signs of her guesses (like miso on his breath).

"Nah, he's telling the truth." The cycloptic jounin defended his student. "It happens to me all the time."

Then all of his students gave him the evil eye and Kakashi wished he _DIDN'T_ do what he just did.

"Uhhh... That is, not when I have to be here... With my team..." He poorly attempted to cover his slip-up.

"We have a mission!" He declared, pointing towards the horizon and starting on his trek, narrowly avoiding his team's combined wrath.

---

Sakura eyes shifted to the corner of her vision, as she watched the dark-haired boy methodically and efficiently pull weeds out of the garden. A light blush lit her face as she sighed wistfully, mind somewhere pondering on some very important things...

_'Uchiha Sakura'_; oh, how she loved the sound of that. Though _'Haruno Sasuke'_ also had a nice ring to it...

Nice _'ring'_ to it! Ha! She sighed dreamily again.

A shadow then covered her vision and she'd looked up to see a Naruto standing with his hands on his hips, grinning a storm. She was going to berate him for his lack of work ethic, when suddenly his stomach suddenly exploded and another Naruto appeared by spear-diving through the former.

**-BLAMF!-**

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

"GAH!"

Completely taken by surprise, Sakura recoiled back and landed hard on her behind. Naruto winced at her reaction. He was hoping to get another lick at a first impression, so he intended to surprise her.

Oh, he'd surprised her alright.

"IDIOT!" Sakura shouted as she bore down on him.

**-WHAM!-**

---

The rest of the day had Sakura mark as one of the worst days in her life. On some ridiculous notion, Naruto had sprung surprise after surprise on her all day and each time she'd flailed and ended up in a ridiculously compromised manner -like stumbling into nearby bushes or falling into the stream...

...however she didn't mind the one where she'd jumped straight into Sasuke's arms. Though he'd dropped her immediately when he'd realised the situation.

In fact, Naruto had surprised her so much, that by mid-day, she'd become immune to his stupid attempts and she'd cut out the middle-man entirely by, instead of panicking, throwing a punch his way every time he appeared.

After the 8th or so punch, Naruto backed off -finally learning the lesson that Sakura would probably be long past the 'introducing stage' of their relationship and that he should just read and put into practise the next chapter tomorrow...  
Or whenever he healed...  
Or whenever she stopped punching him on sight...

The blond genin rubs his cheek painfully at the thought, when he unintentionally catches a hint of movement from behind him.

"Hinata?"

And it was indeed so.

Since the academy, one Hyuuga Hinata had looked up to the courage and perseverance at any task that she'd seen Uzumaki Naruto throw himself in. However, because of circumstance involving both her timid nature and their mutual social-standing, she'd only admire him from afar. This behaviour continued and even now, the present day, Hinata's still in awe at the blond boy's dedication.

Today however, caught her attention as she'd witnessed the various mishaps her blond idol happened to deal with. Feeling sorry for the Uzumaki, the Hyuuga heiress took it upon herself to present her idol with a salve that would help with the _'fruits'_ of his labour of the current afternoon. However, her reserved and shy nature had stopped her from approaching him... Atleast up until she got caught.

The aforementioned timid girl gave a little 'eep' at his catching her in the act of following him. Her feet acted on their own and froze up, leaving the girl completely open to the blond boy's sights. She could only look away, terribly embarrassed at being caught openly staring and errr... stalking. In a friendly sense.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" He greeted her once he'd jogged up to her.

"H-hi Naruto-kun..." She stammered.

Not being very good at small-talk himself, nor being the type to do so, he jumped straight to the point as his approach to everything.

"What're you doing here?" He asked, completely taking their coincidental meeting at face-value.

"Erm..." Hinata flustered, before her hand reached into her thigh holster and rummaged for a particular object she had in mind..

"I saw Sakura h-hitting you pretty often today..." She stammered, retrieving a small jar and offering it to the orange-clad boy.

Naruto recognised the salve immediately from during the chuunin preliminaries, took it graciously and began applying it liberally to his arms and face.

"Hey thanks, Hinata-chan! This stuff works wonders!" He laughed appreciatingly.

The white-eyed girl gave a small smile and mumbled a 'your welcome'. When he'd finished and handed the jar back to her, she finally went to ask what had been bothering her.

"Umm... Sakura-san seems pretty u-upset with you today. Did something happen?" She asked.

Naruto chuckled and waved her off. "Nah, I've just been trying to get Sakura-chan to notice and like me!"

"O-oh?"

"Yeah, she's noticed me alright! But I think I need to work on the liking part, eh?"

"I-I see..."

To Naruto, there was a companionable silence, as his thoughts flit on Sakura and various hearts and a bubbly backdrop filled his mind.

To Hinata, she'd felt like the world upped and died.

Being more knowledgeable on social etiquette, the Hyuuga-heiress attempts to politely continue the conversation from the silence it had lapsed into. "Are you going to t-try a-again soon, then?"

"Yeah! Nothing keeps me down, Hinata!"

"Your determination is admirable." She whispers, her head held low as she's saddened at the prospect.

"You should always keep your goals in your sights, Hinata!" Naruto suddenly states.

She looks up alarmed, but he's still smiling at her with his oblivious expression. Her next choice of words are far beyond being regal or lady-like for a person of her stature.

"Huh...?"

"I said you should always keep sight of your goals, Hinata! Never give up on what you do! If you believe it enough, you will get there! I know I'll be Hokage someday and I'll always strive to that day!"

Hinata released a breath she didn't know she was holding and looked on him with doe-like eyes.

"If you believe it enough, you'll get there..." She murmured under her breath, repeating what Naruto just said.

She'd taken his words to heart. The logic behind the words held true! All she had to do was just ask him if maybe she could be a person special to him! Naruto was a kind boy and surely he'd give her a chance! She couldn't lose Naruto to Sakura if she didn't have Naruto in the first place!

Whilst Hinata worked on the courage to ask the blond boy out, Naruto was wondering why in the world the shy girl had suddenly zoned out on him. He'd got up to invading her personal space and waving a hand in front of her face, when her own hand had suddenly flew up in a determined fist.

"Yikes!" He yelped, backing up.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata stated determinedly, looking towards the shocked boy, completely missing the events just prior to now.

"Y-yeah, Hinata?"

And now the hurdle...

"A-are y-you going to be f-f-f..."

It was like pushing a boulder larger than yourself up a vertical slope.

"F-f-f-f-f-f..." She stammered like a failing lawnmower. No, more graceful than that; a garden sprinkler.

"What is it, Hinata? What is it girl?" Naruto jumped up and down concerned.

"F-f-f-f-f-f..." She looped, still unable to get around the word.

"Fierce? Fired up? Flaccid? (Hinata blushed at that one) Frog? Am I a frog? Did Hanabi fall down the well again?" Though if ever asked why he said that last one, he wouldn't know for the life of him.

"F-f-f-f-f..." She shook her head at his questions, still trying to get around this word. Though her mind was screaming _'FREE, the word is FREE!'_, but it just wasn't exiting her tongue -as if it was stuck dealing with customs trying to explain those odd prescription tablets.

"I know this word!" Naruto exclaimed punching his open palm, though he'd actually completely lost the point. "It's that bastard, Neji, isn't it!-? He went and fu-"

Hinata's eyes widened and her word finally came out. "FREE! F-free this W-Wednesday...?"

Naruto naively tilted his head to the side. "Am I free this Wednesday?"

Unable to trust her mouth, Hinata nodded mutely.  
Naruto tapped his chin and grimaced.

"I dunno Hinata." He hesitated and she started deflating. "I'm not the sort to sell myself, let alone give me around for free..."

If Hinata was the type of girl to slap her forehead, she would have and then some. But being demurely brought up in a very formal household did not afford such small trivialities.

"I-I meant, are y-you doing anything for l-lunch on W-Wednesday?" She asked.

When Naruto opened his mouth to reply, Hinata went on to elaborate.

"Aside from eating, I mean." She added exasperatedly.

Naruto nodded, his eyes flicking to the corner considering it. "Well, aside from lunch, I guess I'm not doing anything..." His tongue lapped his lips unconsciously at the thought of ramen...

Steeling her resolve, Hinata pushed forth the big question.

"Would y-you like-"

"WAIT!" Naruto interrupted, his face dawning with comprehension. "Isn't it this Wednesday when Ichiraku does a Ramen Sale?-?"

"Yes, so w-would y-you l-like to eat t-togethe-" Hinata shakily nodded and attempted to continue.

"If it's this Wednesday, then looks like I'll be busy over at Ichiraku's then. Sorry Hinata." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head whilst apologising.

The pale-eyed girl immediately wilted as her resolved had all been used up. She'd been so close to asking him out.

"Well, looks like I'll just have to help you with your training some other time, eh?" He assumed off-handedly.

Hinata's head picked up at that. _Training?_ Training meant spending time with Naruto...

"How bout Friday, huh? Say at 4?" He asked. "My team training area?"

The stricken Hyuuga-heiress nodded slowly. Training was practically a date as well! This was good!

"Anyways, I gotta get going." Naruto started off in a direction his stomach was pulling.

"Let's do lunch some time!"

---

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, as the spectacle came to a close.

His student had finally started taking his advice and he'd thought the kid was a goner after several times being turned down (though more like; knocked down -literally), however, the number one most surprising ninja had indeed lived up to his name-sake when he'd started speaking with the Hyuuga girl.

Jiraiya scratched his chin contemplating, before he'd retrieved a leather-encased book, opened it to a certain page and started writing.

* * *

_Single Ninja on the Town -_** Amendments.  
**_Amended Chapter 1 ..._ **Impressions**

_Of course, most kunoichi's also appreciate normalcy and should probably not be reminded of their jobs._

_Thus the second option should work better._

-The Simple Approach.  
_Make eye contact, take the initiative and walk over and say 'hi'. Then follow it up with either small-talk and/or an invitation out for coffee._

_This bout of normalcy will suffice and thus the simple approach would work far more favourably than a flashy entrance._

_After all, who likes a show-off?_

* * *

Then Jiraiya paused to tap the pen on his chin. An additional note had then struck him.

* * *

Additional amendment:  
_A regular shinobi should never use flashy entrances on a kunoichi that already knows them. It's just plain dumb. (Unless they like that sort of thing) _

**End of Chapter 1 ... Impressions.**  
_Next up!_  
**Chapter 2** ... Attitude.  
**Subtitle:** Ino in Full Bloom.

* * *

**  
Author's Notes:  
**Well, after a HUGE hiatus on _Single Ninja_, it's back on track. For some odd reason, I'd mostly gone ahead and written a bit of the final chapter instead of going in order... o.o;  
Yeah, I finally thought it was about time I try to wrap this up. I mean, it's not as long as _Fox Identity_ and certainly has 7 set installments in all! Anyway, next chapter should be up soon and its focus will be on Ino (and duh, Sakura) but Hinata will also pop in for a bit. 

As for time discontinuities... Ummm... I have a perfectly legitimate reason for that... AMNESIA DUST!

Please, no suggestions on pairings. I've planned this fic out and well... It doesn't really have a pairing. There'll be a hint of a technical pairing at the very end, but that's about it. But please, just accept it just as a humorous take on Naruto and the hijinks he gets involved in.

Anyways, until next time!

_Uploaded: October 20th, 2005.  
First Revision: February 7th, 2006.  
Second Revision: August 3rd, 2006.  
_


	3. Chapter 2: Attitudes

**Chapter 2 ... Attitudes**

_Female shinobi's must know that the male shinobi isn't all about killing, though it really can't be helped in the ninja profession. The male shinobi must prove to their partners that they also have a caring and compassionate side among other admirable qualities._

_From this point on, the male shinobi should have already been introduced to the kunoichi and so should now strive to prove that they are desirable. This can be done with several visits to the female ninja and general conversation should be pursued, as well as attempts to fit in personal subjects such as birthdays, likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc._

_With enough research, the male shinobi should attempt to mold themselves to be more desirable from the knowledge of the kunoichi they're pursuing. For example, should the female ninja like using water techniques, it'd be a good idea for the male shinobi to take up swimming -if this example holds true to you, you are a lucky man! If you play your cards right, you and your chosen may be practising water techniques under sun, surf and bikinis!_

_However, it's not enough to just mold some likes and dislikes to gain some middle-ground between shinobi and kunoichi, but some more... base personality aspects as well. Being supportive or a generally chivalrous nature are both aspects that are smiled upon!_

_Actually, the latter personality traits should be put into practise with all women and not just kunoichi. Even civilian women can be very aggressive should the male shinobi prove to be impolite.  
_

* * *

Naruto scratched his head at trying to discern the meaning of the word 'chivalrous'. However, at seeing the approach of his female teammate -which also happens to be the same kunoichi he's pursuing, he pens the word under 'nice', puts away the book and gives a hearty greeting just as she passes him. 

"Hey Saku-URK!"

**-WHAM-**

"Oh, geeze! Sorry Naruto!"

Whoops, looks like Sakura still hadn't gotten over what he'd done two days ago.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: In Soviet Russia, you own Naruto. Over here, Naruto owns you. 

**Single Ninja on the Town  
**By Arkhe  
**Chapter 2 :** Attitudes  
**Subtitle -** Ino in Full Bloom.

* * *

Naruto had been trying to approach Sakura throughout the day, but hadn't been successful. Thanks to his ill-thought ploy, she still reflexively hit him each time he announced his presence to her today. 

So Naruto had thought up a very cunning plan that would surely catch Sakura's attention and he could show her how nice he can be!

---

An interlude in training was announced and the team was getting ready to move out on their own. Sasuke had shot down Sakura again and now comes Naruto's request to eat out with him...

"Let's go out today, Sakura-chan! Just me and y-URK!"

**-WHAM-**

Sakura turned around to address Naruto the usual way. Said male was belted across the face and the sheer force had him drag his face along the dirt until he came to a stop at her feet. The pink-haired genin was just about repeat how she preferred Sasuke over him, like she did every other day, when she'd realised something was amiss...

Naruto had been belted and had come to a stop at her feet... Meaning that she had belted him from several feet away. In fact, she apparently still standing a few feet away from herself.

The Sakura-clone gave a wave before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The real Sakura immediately recognised it as a doppelganger using transform and turned her attention back to Naruto lying at her feet. He slowly craned his neck to look up at his chosen girl.

"Well, got your attention, didn't I?" He grinned weakly as various gravel fell away from his whiskered face.

The stunt had caused Sakura to laugh aloud whilst shaking her head.

"Oh Naruto..." She shook her head. _Only he would do such a thing to catch anyone's attention... _Then the thought had caused her to think about the last couple of days and her expression turned a little somber. "I've been hitting you for no good reason over the last couple of days, haven't I?" She offered him a helping hand up.

"Eh, you know how to keep me in line." Naruto admitted getting to his feet with Sakura's aid.

The comment cause her to smile. But suspecting the stalling, she went to cut through the chase. "I'm still not going out with you Naruto."

"Well, I don't really feel like going out anyway." He shrugged.

She gave him an odd look. "Oh? So what do you feel like then?"

Naruto shrugged again and went over to the bridge railings and pulled himself to sit on top of them. "How bout to just talk?" He suggested.

"Just talk?" She scoffed, following to lean on the rails opposite to Naruto. "And just what will we talk about Naruto? Birthdays? Blood types? Favourite food?"

"March 28th. Type O. And pickled plums." He'd recited, looking over to the flowing water beneath him.

Sakura blinked.

"What?"

Naruto turned her way and shrugged. "Your birthday's on March 28th. Your blood type is O. And I'm not sure about your favourite food, but you used to bring pickled plums lotsa times at the academy before you started only on salads and weird fruity diets." He made a face at the last one.

Sakura was more than a little surprised. He'd just about gotten all of it right! She was starting to feel a little creeped out that he'd gone so far as watch her all the time. "Are you some sort of stalker or something?" She asked, already beginning to push off the rails and make some space between them.

"Nah." He jumped off from where he sat. "I just mostly listen to whatever you say to the jerk, 'cause, you know, we're a team and stuff."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but couldn't help be taken aback. He probably knew much more about herself from just watching her than what she knew of him! And the extension of what she knew about him was him graduating at the bottom of the academy, his love for ramen and his goal to become Hokage!

Displeased at this thought, Sakura furrowed her brows and turned away from her blond teammate.

"You off now Sakura-chan?" He asked, a little disappointment seeped into his question as he strode up beside her. "Don't wanna talk anymore then?"

Deciding that it probably was the best course of action, Sakura agreed. "Well, I'll be seeing you at training again after lunch, Naruto. Now if you don't mind, I think I'd like to have something to eat before then." She said whilst starting to wander away, him following her of his own accord. "You ought to get your ramen while you can." She said just as she passed the street he'd need to turn into to head to Ichiraku.

"See you later then, Sakura-chan!" Naruto bade farewell and began on his way.

"Oi Naruto!" Then a few moments later, her voice calling him from a little further back. "I like pickled plums but it's not my favourite!"

The blond genin grinned in response and then disappeared around the fence.

---

Naruto visibly grimaced, his face set in determination. He'd been rereading the second chapter again but this time, had a dictionary scroll on loan from the local ninja library -which was odd, because someone felt they needed to create a dictionary in a scroll with a search function, which (though minorly ninja affiliated) still should not have been put among ninja literature.

He was just about to locate the elusive word 'chivalrous', when someone had interrupted his thoughts.

"Never would've thought I'd find you reading, Uzumaki."

Naruto looked over and found it was Yamanaka Ino, seated a few seats away, who'd addressed him. With her only being remotely connected to his love interest, he didn't really pay her much mind.

"Yeah, well. I got to study." He said, before turning back to his research.

"You!-? Study?-!" Ino snorted, failing to stifle a chuckle. She couldn't picture Naruto and 'study' in the same sentence.

He'd given her a dry look and pulled out his dictionary scroll for closer scrutiny. Upon seeing the dictionary scroll, the Yamanaka daughter stopped, completely mistaking it for a _ninja_ dictionary scroll -one that has explanations for all associated ninja terms.

"Well, I'll be darned! You really are studying, ain'cha?" A disbelieving smirk played on her features.

"Mm hmm." Naruto nodded, only half paying attention to the platinum blond.

"So, what're you looking at?" She leaned over to see what he was reading so intently.

Naruto snapped the scroll shut (effectively halting his progress in learning what 'chivalrous' meant yet again) and closed the manuscript Jiraiya had peddled on him.

"Err..." He faltered. "It's nothing really... You know, ninja hush-hush stuff."

His choice of words had Ino laugh out loud. "Ninja hush-hush stuff...!-? Hahah!" Then she'd playfully tapped the side of her nose, conspiratorially amused.

Naruto flushed embarrassed at his ridiculous choice of words. Even he had a standards towards this kind of stuff!  
Quickly trying to turn the situation his way, he turned to the Ichiraku owner and ordered a bowl of miso ramen and a bowl of prawn and pork ramen.

"No thanks, Naruto." Ino declined loudly, when she heard him order. "I'm on a diet. Don't order for me."

"Wasn't for you." He rolled his eyes at her assumption.

The female of Team 8 huffed and looked away with as much dignity as she could muster; ending their interaction.

It wasn't long before Naruto's orders came up and he'd readied his chopsticks. He was about to dig into the miso, when he'd caught Ino glancing longingly at his lunch. Noting with surprise that she had only ordered tea for herself, it came as a surprise to both of them what at what he did next.

He'd had the cook pass his bowl of prawn and pork over to Ino.

When Ino denied ordering anything, the cook had pointed in Naruto's direction, who'd given her a friendly salute before starting to dig into his miso.

Feeling indignant at Naruto's charity, the kunoichi brought over the bowl and placed it back next to him.

"Look Uzumaki, I can't eat this stuff. It'll ruin my diet for the week!" She complained.

"Hey hey! Just eat it, okay? I mean, we're going back to training afterwards, so you'll need as much energy as you can!" He tried to rationalise his decision.

Ino was about to rebuke when her stomach beat her to it.

**-growl-**

Naruto none too discreetly grinned into his bowl, before bringing more noodles to his mouth.

Defeated, Ino took a seat next to Naruto and daintily started on her meal. Before her own chopsticks could raise the noodles to her mouth however, she'd taken a notice of Naruto's manners and gave him a mortified look.

"Do you have to be so sloppy?"

He looked up, noodles still in mid-inhale.

"Hrmphl?"

"And don't talk with your mouth full!"

The blond boy swallowed, albeit quieter, then proceeded to scratch the back of his head with a broad grin.

"Hehe, sorry, Ino." He timidly laughed.

She responded with an approving smile, before returning her attention to her own bowl.

A companionable silence set in as each sedately went about enjoying their meals their private thoughts. It wasn't long before Naruto finished before pondering on another order when Ino decided then and there to speak aloud on the formings of something she couldn't pin in her mind.

"You know Uzumaki..." Ino stirred the contents of her bowl. "You're alright."

She didn't mean for it to have a wistful tinge, but she certainly hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way. She didn't know what to make of it herself, really.

"All Hokage's got to be good guys, right?" He warmly smiled in response.

Though not looking at him, Ino caught the smile he gave her and she couldn't help but smile into the broth herself.

"Well, I'm done." He stood whilst giving a light stretch, getting ready to return the scroll. He was worried about the Ninja Library's policy, where if their books were to disappear, the book gets a trip out for the day before Librarian ANBU track it down. Frankly, there was no other method to loan books and they followed the strict rule that 'if you couldn't sneak it out, you don't deserve to read it'. So far, Kakashi had the longest running record of 7 years on the first signed edition of Icha Icha Paradise, Volume 1.

His fine is still rising.

"Anyways, places to go. A ninja's work is never done!" The orange-clad rookie yawned.

Then he'd paused as he suddenly remembered something. "Hey Ino! Do you remember what Sakura-chan usually likes to eat?" He asked curiously.

The blond girl tilted her head cutely and responded after thinking it over. "Anmitsu, I'm pretty sure."

Receiving a blank look, she went on to explain exasperatedly. "It's that sort of jelly and syrup. Sometimes it's got fruits." She gestured, her pointed finger making a circling motion.

Naruto's mouth curved into an 'o' shape and he nodded, digesting the information and vaguely remembering a relevant dish from the recesses of his memory.

"So why'd you want to know that? You aren't going to prank her, are you?" She gave the boy an accusing look.

Inwardly, Naruto grimaced. He'd never do such a thing to his beloved Sakura-chan. He was about to reply, but ever quick on the uptake, thought better and instead tapped the side of his nose.

"Ninja hush-hush." He fought back a grin.

"Ninja hush-hush?" Ino said dryly. She smiled but she found the joke to be wearing thin. Naruto wasn't the mysterious type at all, so this little bit of oddity was very clashing.

Folding her arms, Ino went on to ask half-jokingly. "And I suppose you aren't going to tell me where you're going, considering training doesn't resume for a while yet?"

"Definitely ninja hush-hush!" He laughed not even giving his answer a thought through.

This time, the reply hadn't been taken so well.

"Ninja hush-hush?-! Pffft!" She held up a fist menacingly.

Realising his error too late, Naruto held up his hands and tried to apologise profusely as Ino advanced on him all to no avail as she threateningly closed the distance between them. Right when she got within striking distance, he'd lowered his head and closed his eyes waiting for the hit to come.

When none came, he'd cautiously open them to find Ino's fist was still held out towards his forehead, her face decked with a cheeky grin. Then she'd playfully gave his head a tap.

"That's for flinching." She giggled.

Appreciating a good joke -even on him, Naruto laughed too.

Then they both exchanged farewells and he exited. It was only some minutes after that Hinata entered. She'd scanned the establishment but didn't find the person she was looking for.

"Oh darn." She sighed.

The timid girl was about to exit when Ino called out and pulled her over.

"Looks like you were looking for someone, huh?" Ino asked.

"Y-yes, but h-he's not here anymore." The white-eyed girl sighed.

"Him, huh? Who were you looking for?" Ino asked curiously.

The Hyuuga-heiress blushed and stammered some excuses, but Ino reviewed the time she was here and made an educated guess.

"Were you looking for Naruto?" The blue-eyed girl asked. Naruto had been the only male patron she knew that came in today.

Hinata squeaked and looked away hurriedly, her face turning a deeper shade of red than it currently was.

"You ARE looking for Naruto!" Ino exclaimed in surprise. "You just missed him!"

"O-oh..." Hinata wilted.

Ino's eyes lingered on Hinata's expression and she'd quickly made some connections. Thinking that it was too good an opportunity to pass up, the platinum blond then proceeded to order a bowl of ramen for her friend.

"Well, there'll be other times, right?" Ino said handing the bowl over.

"I guess. I will be training with him on Friday." Unable to decline, Hinata accepted the offer and began motions to eat.

"Friday, you say? I can help you out if you want!" Ino volunteered enthusiastically.

"O-oh?" Hinata realised too soon that her polite nature had just invited someone into her alone with Naruto time.

"Yeah! I'll make sure nothing goes wrong!" The Yamanaka daughter jabbed a thumb at her chest. "You can count on me!"

"B-but that's n-not neces-" The poor Hyuuga girl tried to reassure her friend that she'd be fine, but unfortunately had been interrupted and the topic was shifted.

"Hey!" Ino tactically interrupted, snapping her fingers just as she recalled something she'd forgotten. "Do you remember when Naruto painted the Hokage monument? That was hilarious! The old fogies up there are so serious, it was finally time someone did something about it!"

Hinata blushed and replied that she thought it was humorous too. Though Hinata started reluctantly, it wasn't long before both girls ended up laughing and blushing at some of their memories concerning a certain orange-clad loudmouth who, with each story shared, was seemingly becoming capable of reaching such great heights.

When the two girls finally parted ways, Ino had reflected on what little she did know about Naruto incomparison to the vivid pictures Hinata appeared to paint the blond boy in. She had to accept that he was no Sasuke, but surely if Hinata saw something and Ino herself caught a glimpse of...

Quickly forcing that line of thought out of her mind, Ino turned back on the safer pretense of Naruto's aid earlier. Rationalising that she wasn't one to just accept charity out of the blue like that, Ino promised herself that she owed the hyper-active ninja a favour. As a result, her training that day was visibly lacking, but she had already kept in mind ways on how she could pay him back.

---

Jiraiya pulled his head back down into the booth he was seated in and started writing again.

"Lucky little brat! A few more years and he's going to have a following! Just like his old man!" Then Jiraiya growled as his pen increased speed as it tore through page after page. "And I never get that kind of attention without paying for it!"

After a few calming breaths, he put away the notepad and began writing in a leather-bound book.

* * *

_Single Ninja on the Town_ - **Amendments.  
**_Amended Chapter Two_ ... **Attitudes**

_The following are a few key notes for several desirable traits:_  
-Be sure to train hard. A little dedication is also a little impressive.  
-Smile often but don't over do it. You must keep it sincere.  
-Keep a scroll, book or newspaper around often. Reading is the sign of intellect!  
-Be sure to keep track of the conversation. It will bite you in the ass if you don't.  
-Make sure to be open to suggestion and be sure to try to treat it as an order. Most suggestions usually are.  
-Be polite. Think before you talk. If it's vaguely insulting, rephrase your words. Quickly! Before they hurt you!  
-Apologise for anything and everything if it's even a miniscule to their liking!

_Oh, and if the mallet (or other incredibly large blunt object) is retrieved, know that it is in the male shinobi's best interest to just simply take the hit. Trust me, it's a lot more safer in the long run than not to. Unless sharp, instant-killing objects are wielded, then it's better to run away (which is usually the follow up to whether the ninja ran away from the blunt objects)._

_The following catalogs a list of objects which denotes 'should receive a beating' and followed by the list 'best to run away from'. All labeled without an asterisk should try to kept away from groinal regions, though there are some exceptions to keep the danger from escalating._

_knee  
slap  
grab  
brass knuckles  
club  
two-by-four plank with a nail  
..._

**End of Chapter 2 ... Attitudes.**  
_Next up!_  
**Chapter 3 ...** Training.  
**Subtitle:** Clash of the Tenten!

* * *

**Author's notes:**  
Actually, the scene with Ino was a little longer. Then I realised that I nearly written a Naru/Ino, so I rewrote it. Heheh. Anyways next up is Tenten!  
Oh yeah, partly true story in there. I know a guy who's borrowed a book from a library. Around 10-16 years and still going! It's not particularly a great book, he's just embarrassed to take it back. XD 

Apologies for people waiting on Fox05b... It's nearly here!

_Uploaded: November 1st, 2005.  
First Revision: February 7th, 2006.  
Second Revision: August 4th, 2006.  
_


	4. Chapter 3: Training

**Chapter 3 ... Training**

_The kunoichi should be more comfortable with the male shinobi. Thus, a request to the kunoichi to train together shouldn't be a problem._

_Though not technically a date, it is rather close and can be classified as an impromptu date. If the male shinobi has gotten here then they should congratulate themselves! They are now very close to wooing their desired partner, as this is physical proof that the female is willing to trust the male with her life!_

_This part is a rather simple concept. The male shinobi should approach the kunoichi, engage in conversation and steer it towards training. Once so, ask if they can train together._

_On acceptance, the male shinobi should take it easy on the kunoichi. Since the likelihood for the female shinobi is either a Genjutsu user or a Medic ninja, the male shinobi should not try to over do their counter-parts, lest they make them feel vulnerable._

_Once the sparring goes for an appropriate duration, it can be concluded in two ways;  
-take a non-threatening hit and fake an injury  
-fight until both parties are tired and surrender, admitting you are too tired to continue.  
_

* * *

"Well... I guess that's true." Naruto mumbled naively. 

All the women he knew, had counted under Jiraiya's chauvinistic definition. However, he had forgotten to consider a certain weapons-specialist, a fan-using sand-sibling and a blood-lusting once-snake apprentice.

And thanks to this particular irony, the chances of him meeting all three, _within the next few days,_ rose remarkably.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: In Soviet Russia, you own Naruto. Over here, Naruto owns you. 

**Single Ninja on the Town**  
By Arkhe  
**Chapter 3 :** Training  
**Subtitle -** Clash of the Tenten.

* * *

Eager to give his next piece of advice a try, Naruto waited until the completion of the day's D-rank mission before implementing what he'd learned. 

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out.

"I'm not going out with you, Naruto." Sakura replied on schedule.

"No, no, no!" He waved his hands out in front of him. Being quick to denial had Sakura settle him with a questioning gaze and a hand on her hip.

"What? You want to just talk again?" She tilted her head to the side, an amused smile crossed her face.

"Nah! I wanna spar!" Naruto replied, bouncing up and down from one foot to the other.

Sakura scrunched her face at the thought. "Spar?"

"You choose the rules, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned at the prospect.

"Eh, why in the world do you want to spar now?" She groaned. "We just finished a D-Rank mission and I just want to go home and wash up."

"I'm going to be Hokage sometime, Sakura-chan! I need to learn how to fight against all different kinds of people!" Naruto replied in earnest.

"Feh. I'm going home." The pink-haired genin dismissed him and started on her way.

Desperate to get a spar with Sakura, he blurted the first thing that came to mind. "A round of anmitsu says you can't beat me!"

The shout had caused Sakura to stop. She turned her head slowly, her brows rose in curiousity. "How did you know...?" She started to ask if only slightly bewildered.

Naruto kept his arms folded and continued grinning, hoping against all hope that he would get a spar in with the girl he likes. "You game?"

Sakura fully turned around and cracked her knuckles. "Who's to say I'm not one to turn down an invitation like that?" She smirked.

The female genin began to approach her blond teammate and started laying down her rules. "Restrictions are; no weapons and academy ninjutsu and taijutsu allowed only. Anything else is instant disqualification, ok?" She punctuated the question with moving into a combatative stance.

"What!-?" Naruto whined. "That's not fa-"

He started to whine about how she outlawed his best stuff, but was cut off as he dodged a round-house kick aimed for his head, then backed off from the follow up back kick with her opposite leg. His attempt to force distance and recover, however, had him on the receiving end of more attacks, as Sakura rushed in and pressed on, this time with a faster and fiercer barrage, not allowing her opponent an inch to recover.

However, Naruto got his chance. Once the adrenaline started coursing through his veins, a grin covered his face and he spun into action. He brought in the first use of ninjutsu when Sakura next attacked and he'd been replaced with a log.

An attack came from behind her and she'd replaced herself with a log as well.

The battle went up a notch.

A few minutes into battle, Sakura noticed that many of her blows didn't seem to be slowing Naruto down and she soon realised that he would outlast her with his astonishing amount of stamina. So she reduced herself to stealth, diversion and hit and run tactics. Her blond opponent would eventually learn to watch his back.

Naruto though, played upfront. He would purposely take attacks head on and use it to be able to deliver some counter-attacks. However, his use of ninjutsu had been less than straightforward as he specialised in deceit quite well. His emerald-eyed opponent would soon learn not to take her eye off the log that Naruto 'replaced' himself with.

The battle had gone on and on and soon, Sakura was really tiring. Naruto didn't notice as he was enjoying their spar for so long that he'd forgotten what the book had said and was completely intending to take the win for himself.

However, true to her intellect, Sakura managed to devise a plan at the last second and she put it into action when she managed to counter Naruto's parry and throw him towards a tree.

Seeing the obstacle coming to meet him head on, the orange-clad ninja spun himself in mid-air, so that his feet struck the trunk, absorb the impact and prepared to push off to attack her again when...

"You lose!" Sakura laughed, pointing at him triumphantly.

And he stopped at that.

"What?" He quirked his head to the side in confusion.

"Look at your feet!" She pointed out.

He looked down. He was sticking to the tree. So what? It's not like he didn't use anything he learned outside the acade-...

Oh. He was sticking to the tree. He learned that from Kakashi-sensei.

"Damn!" Naruto swore. He'd let the chakra stored in feet seep away, allowing him to extract himself from the tree and land safely at the base.

Sakura giggled as the blond boy sulkingly approached her. Her inner-self had scolded her at being cheap for telling Naruto to stop from jumping at her, causing him to unconsciously stick to the tree, but she didn't dwell on it for long when she'd remembered that she'd soon be having a nice bowl of jelly and syrupy goodness. Besides, she rationalised, if he was just a little bit smarter, he would have atleast tried to contest her under-handed ways!

She still continued to giggle as he kept sulking when they were walking side by side towards a restaurant where she could receive her prize.

"It's not so bad, Naruto!" Sakura's melodic voice sang out in an attempt to lighten the mood. "You'll be in my presence as I enjoy my lovely hard-earned..."

Then it struck her.

Seeing his teammate pause in mid-step, Naruto stopped too and turned to face her.

The cotton-candy-haired girl turned on him with an accusing finger. "You cunning little fox!" She started, though a lopsided grin and cheerful attitude accompanied her odd choice of words.

Naruto looked around confused and he pointed to himself with a scared and questioning look.

"If you lose, you'd have to buy me anmitsu... If I lose, I'd buy you anmitsu..." She accused. "Meaning either way, we'd actually be going out. Together." She concluded. "You were setting me up for a date!"

Naruto went up to scratch the back of his head and grinned with his eyes closed. He didn't really think of that! He was only actually trying to earn a spar out of her like the book told him, though this was sounding pretty awesome too!

Sakura shook her head and rubbed her eyes, though a wry smile didn't move from her face.

"Is there something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"No, Naruto." She finally decided, straightening up with a casual smile. "I think I'll take a rain-check today on that anmitsu." She said and started heading in a different direction. "I think I'll be resting up for today, like I said I would."

Naruto bid a quiet farewell, though when his love-interest reached the next block, she turned to face him and called out.

"Don't forget that you owe me though!"

Naruto nodded and waved. Once she was out of sight, he decided on a quick lunch before heading back to his Team's meeting area. It was Friday and he'd made a promise to be training with Hinata today.

---

Much to Hinata's dismay, her teacher, Kurenai, had her stay behind after training to help the Hyuuga-heiress with various techniques. Much too polite to decline her teacher, Hinata had been training until her teacher was satisfied, and let her go, albeit border-lining late.

So here she was, sprinting as hard as she can to meet Naruto for their training session, hoping against hope that he hadn't left yet.

"Hinata-chan!"

And being ever so polite, the Hyuuga stopped to see who addressed her, further burning away at a fuse leading to her reserve storage of patience.

"Good afternoon, Ino-chan!" Hinata said with a bow.

"You're going to meet Naruto now, right?" The blond girl asked excitedly.

"Yes!" Hinata desperately wanted to move this along.

"Well, I'll come with you, like I said I would!" The Yamanaka daughter grinned.

Hinata forced a smile back. Somewhere in the back of her mind, an expletive was set off, destroying a block of reserved good will.

Hinata nervously ran a hand through her violet locks. "Well, I'm running a little late, so we'll have to run..."

---

"Hmm... Wonder what's taking Hinata so long?" Naruto wondered.

Checking his watch, he'd found that she was late by 10 minutes already.

"Hinata's not the type to be late..." He pondered. "I better go find her!" On a spur decision, he decides to run over to her training area to see if she's still there.

It was only a few scant moments when he left, that Hinata and Ino arrived.

"Damn! He's not here!" Ino exclaimed.

Hinata was too refined to murmur an obscenity, but she has been really close as of late.

"Maybe he's gone to eat?" "Maybe he went home?"  
They both suggested at the same time.

Ino brought a hand to her chin in serious contemplation. "I think you're on to something, though we'll check his house afterwards..." She said eyeing the direction for Ichiraku since she didn't know where he lived... yet.

"Ichiraku's this way!" Ino grabbed her pale-eyed partner's hand. "C'mon!"

They went the direction completely opposite the way Naruto left towards.

---

In truth, Naruto honestly had no idea where Hinata's training ground was. But little details like that never stopped him before.

It was at this point in his running, he accidentally tripped over a kunai that stuck face down in the ground.

"Damn!" He managed to cry out before his mouth was filled with various foliage.

---

Tenten had been collecting her weapons after a long grueling exercise she'd placed upon herself.

Normally, she would be training with either teammate or teacher, but they were all predisposed of for some reason or another.

Gai had been assigned a jounin mission.  
Lee was doing his rounds for another loss to a self-imposed rule.  
Neji had been assigned to certain family duty.

So this left Tenten by herself to work on a certain technique of hers, namely; summon bundles of weapons at a time and then have them thrown in a blanketed swarm in a set area.

In all, the technique was best against swarms of attacking ninja, as the area spread of her attack would definitely wound someone, especially if they were all clustered. Otherwise, it'd work in a pinch to at least tag a ninja that would try to escape from it.

And right now, she was looking for the last kunai to store again when...

"Damn!"

A yelp in the direction of the woods nearby, had her pause. She approached cautiously as the mumbled swearing grew louder. A familiar looking spot of spiky hair had her grab the offending mop and pull on it hard, flinging the crouching genin out of the bushes and at her feet.

"OWWW!" Naruto cried out, fiercely cradling his throbbing scalp.

Tenten blinked.

It was that loud Uzumaki boy who had defeated Neji in the finals!

She started wondering what his business was here, but she couldn't help but smirk when she noticed him holding one of her kunai -to which she plucked out of his grasp and replaced it into its scroll. With the action done and her collecting task completed, she turned to address Naruto.

"What are you doing here?" She asked expectantly, hands on hips. "Were you spying on me?"

The orange-clad boy shook himself and looked up confused. "This isn't Hinata's training area?"

"Hyuuga Hinata, right?" She asked to clarify, to which he nodded. She only knew the former from her teammate's various rants about his cousin (though in her opinion, it could be constituted as an obsession and she personally thought that he was probably crushing on her _-shudder-_ ).

"No, this is the training area of Tea-" She couldn't even get to saying her team number when he interrupted her.

"Who are you supposed to be, anyway?" He pointed at her in sudden surprise. "I haven't seen you around before! Are you a spy!-?"

"NO! I live around here!" Tenten lost her composure. She made it to the third portion of the Chuunin test! Why couldn't he remember her!-? "My name's Tenten--"

Naruto slammed a fist into his open palm in recognition, effectively interrupting Tenten again, this time from introducing her last name.

"OHH! You're that weapons-specialist girl!..."

Tenten preened at being called a 'weapons specialist'.

"...who lost to that fan-girl!"

And Tenten slumped. She didn't want to be remembered for THAT! She knew she could have won if she wasn't mismatched with her worst possible opponent... Or maybe if she wasn't so fool hardy...

"You were alright in your fight though..." Naruto shrugged, bringing his hands behind his head. The comment had her loss alleviate a little.

"...I was better though! I beat Neji!" He added inconsiderately, making Tenten slump further into depression.

It was a sore point, considering Neji was a possible unrequited crush (she wasn't even sure if he was even that) and that the Hyuuga only trained with her for his own ends.

It was an even bigger sore point, that Neji (as well as the rest of her team) treated her so delicately. How could she become a great ninja someday, if she wasn't getting the kind of training they did with each other? Granted, she didn't want to end up a smoking heap much like Lee ends up after challenging Neji, but she wanted her own share of bruises too...

...err -not in any weird kind of way, mind you. Bruises to harden her up is all. Get her more battle ready and all that.

And if it wasn't infuriating enough, Neji ALWAYS defeated her. He never pushed her to her limits, rather pushed her away. With his Kaiten -the damn Heavenly Spin.

And to think, this poor excuse of a ninja beat Neji...

A burning desire erupted in her at the thought of such incompetence.

"You..." She faltered.

"You..." She faltered again.

"You asshole!" Tenten snapped, a finger squarely locked on Naruto. "That must've been a fluke! There's no way you could have beaten Neji!"

Naruto's defense died on his lips, as he decided to dodge Tenten's weapon offensive rather than mouth off and get skewered.

"Oh shit! Not again!" The blond complained at having to get into another fight with another female in such short amount of time.

However, his dodge was cut short as he had to keep dodging in mid-dodge, as the weapons-expert had thrown various weapons to areas just in front of him.

And the game kept, up as Tenten launched weapon after weapon at the frantically dodging genin.

"I never miss a target, you know..." She said casually, a smirk lighting her face. "And I've had enough! Playtime's over! You're mine!"

Whilst Tenten opened up a new scroll altogether, Naruto gained his bearings. "No way, I'm losing to you!" He retorted.

Multiple bursts of smoke dictated the creation of a sizable team of Shadow Replications to Naruto's aid.

"I gave you a chance to hide and all you do is make yourself more prominent!" Tenten cut her thumb. "I don't know how you could have ever passed the genin exam!"

At this time, the hair-bunned girl finished wiping her blood on the weapon-summoning scroll and whipped it around her partially uncloiled like a gymnast's ribbon. Weapon after weapon appeared in existence and all were flung in Naruto's direction.

Seeing the onslaught, the Naruto army picked up the many weapons on the battlefield and some attempted to defend themselves, while others threw some projectiles back. This move had deterred most of the flung weapons but in the end, only one Naruto was still left standing from the rain of steel.

A little surprised, Tenten went to quickly finish the job with one of her simpler but effective moves.

She summoned and threw a Fuuma Shuriken in his direction and just as expected from anyone, Naruto included, the defender went to dodge the over-sized blade.

However, the Shadow Windmill had actually been a ruse that covered a kunai that she also threw. It arced in the direction he was heading and just as expected, he took the hit.

Or rather, he was supposed to.

Any below average ninja would take the hit normally in the shoulder because they wouldn't see it coming.  
An above average ninja would not even try to dodge, but either deflect or take the hit in a less crucial area -since it's a really base weapon and the damage can easily be minimised.

But Naruto wasn't just any Joe-ninja.

He tried to dodge it.

Which put him back into the flight of the overly large shuriken.

Tenten's aim was always perfect.

The shuriken embedded itself into Naruto, causing the male shinobi to deviate from his lunge and ungracefully impact the ground with a sickening thud.

"Shit!" Tenten swore.

She never meant to go this far! He was supposed to take the kunai hit! Her thoughts panicked as she sprinted over to the fallen shinobi.

Just as she reached him, her frantic eyes scanned his twitching form, as blood pooled everywhere. "Shit, shit, shit!" Her panic rose, her hands covered her mouth.

Naruto struggled to lift his head to look at his attacker.

"Gotcha!" And with that triumphant grin of exclamation, he exploded in a puff of smoke.

Tenten gasped, as a kunai embedded in the dirt transformed into the blond ninja she was fighting and proceeded to tackle her to the ground. She realised he'd must've changed using the shadow replications as a cover!

Soon, they were struggling in a fierce lock. Each attempt Tenten made to retrieve a weapon or scroll was thwarted, so she had to resort to base Taijutsu and grappling.

It became a roughhousing of punches, jabs, grabs, reversals and hair-pulling as both combatants fought for dominance and their bodies tossed and tumbled in every direction. Tenten had to push for every taijutsu technique she learned in the academy, while Naruto went on to improvise on the fly with sloppy but effective returns.

Eventually, their struggle had them inch towards the various weapons that lined the field and Tenten managed to wrap her hands around a dagger.

It would have been the turning of the tides if it weren't for the fact that her hand was halted in place by a third-party. Looking up, Tenten noticed a Naruto holding her hand back. Caught by surprise, she loosened her grip enough for the clone to remove the weapon and toss it aside.

The distraction allowed Naruto to push Tenten over on her back. Kneeling on top of her, he propped his legs along her hips and used his weight to pin her from pushing him off. He then furthered it, by grabbing her hands and intertwined their fingers halting her from being able to retrieve another weapon.

Tenten struggled in a last ditch attempt to take control, but when she'd scanned the field for the nearest weapon, she froze.

"I don't own that many katanas..." Confusion tittered on realisation.

Naruto grinned as many of the weapons littering their battlefield, turned into more doppelgangers.

Tenten slumped, knowing she was defeated.

Allowing herself to relax, the dark-haired genin's eyes unconsciously searched out her opponent's as she assessed their battle.

Though she lost, she knew he couldn't have been better off than her -especially when she had a couple of good hits and weapon nicks, as well as a precise knee to the groin once.

And then she considered her present state.

Her weapons were cluttering the field.  
She was thoroughly exhausted.  
Her breathing was haggard.  
She got the shit beaten out of her.  
Her hair was hanging freely as somehow her ties became a casualty.

...she got the shit beaten out of her.

It was awesome!

Tenten couldn't believe she actually had a good roughhousing with someone who wasn't afraid to hit a woman (in the right context)! She let out an exhilarated whoop followed by a laugh.

Naruto, who was watching her reaction since she relaxed, looked on confused. She had just been staring at him for a minute or so, when out of nowhere she just burst out laughing! For some reason he couldn't quite fathom, he found himself joining in as well.

When it started to die out into chuckles, Naruto slowly stood up and held out a hand for Tenten to take. She took it and was promptly helped to her feet.

The wind picked up a little and her hair flailed. She pulled it back behind her head with one hand, never once breaking eye contact with her blond opponent.

"That was a great fight!" Tenten complimented, looking at Naruto in the eye intensely. She unconsciously decided he had deep sky-blue eyes.

"Oh yeah..." Naruto agreed, though he was idly wondering why she wasn't letting go of his hand. He'd consciously noted how she was looking at him a little weirdly too.

"Great figh-" he started to say, before his face gained a somber expression and he pulled away roughly.

"Ah geeze! I was supposed to be looking for Hinata for our training!" He slapped his forehead in irritation. "Got to find out why she was late!"

A little disappointed that he'd be leaving so soon, Tenten instead focused on the great feeling of the bruises and so merely stood and bid her sparring partner farewell.

"See ya, Naruto! Let's spar again sometime!" She called out after his fleeing form.

"Bye Tenten! Will do!" He called out behind him and waved a hand back as he sprinted away.

Tenten was still staring after Naruto's back some minutes later with an elated smile on her face, when a certain duo ran up to her.

It was Ino who pointed at the older girl and couldn't help but point out. "You look like hell!"

Despite such an exclamation, the older girl didn't respond.

"Maybe we shouldn't bother her." Hinata erred on the side of caution.

"Umm..." Ino fumbled for a name. "Tema... Tena... Tenten, right?"

Finally, the hair-bun-liberated girl blinked, as if for the first time noticing her audience.

"Yes?" She responded though still looking noncommited to the exchange.

"Have you seen a loud blond genin wearing orange? Says stupid things and claims to become the next Hokage?" Came Ino's direct question.

"Naruto?" Tenten blinked, suddenly giving the current blond her full attention.

"Yeah!" Both younger genins exclaimed (though they internally winced at noticing how the older girl knew the person they were looking for by his first name).

"I was just sparring with him!" Tenten couldn't stop a smile from blossoming on her face.

"The scumbag!" Ino shouted. Hinata wasn't one to voice her concerns but she thought it.

"Well, he rushed off a little while ago. I think he was looking for you." Tenten quickly defending her recent sparring partner and pointing at the Hyuuga-heiress. "Weren't you supposed to meet him for training?"

"That guy keeps on giving!" Ino's attitude did a 180. Similarly, Hinata held a hand in front of her mouth for even doubting her idol.

"Let me help you guys out-" Then Tenten remembered the mess of her weapons around her. "-after I get my stuff together!"

Hinata and Ino didn't really want another female helping them look for Naruto, so they managed to diplomatically talk Tenten into letting them search him out and the weapons-using girl can find them afterwards.

---

Jiraiya had been furiously writing into a notebook whilst muttering words such as 'pain', 'pleasure' and 'leather' under his breath.

"Damn you, Naruto..." He growled.

"It was only supposed to be a push in the right direction, not to cause a friggin avalanche!"

Once satisfied that he wrote enough into the notebook, he whipped out the leather-bound manuscript and started writing.

"The student teaching the master... Pfft."

* * *

_Single Ninja on the Town_ - **Amendments.  
**_Amended Chapter Three_ ...**Training**

_Now, another way to earn a spar is the double standard bet. Simply bet lunch (preferably the chosen Kunoichi's favourite dish) and the loser pay for it and it gives added incentive for a spar AND a date!_

_Another way to finish the fight would be to use certain grapples to bring together the bodies of the male and female in close quarters. Anything relative where both faces are parallel to the other are highly recommended but should not be used on the kunoichi if they are uncomfortable with the male shinobi just yet. Beware this technique, as hits below the belt become VERY frequent._

_The following is a list of possible finishers for that last paragraph._

---

**End of Chapter 3 ... Training.  
**_Next up!_  
**Chapter 4 ...** Gifts.  
**Subtitle:** On the Winds of Temari.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**  
You know, I think I played off Tenten liking pain a little too much...  
Man, these chapters are getting longer...  
Oh, and I liked writing the last chapter so much that I'm planning a one-shot Naru/Ino sometime -for those of you interested that is. 

_Uploaded: November 11th, 2005.  
First Revision: February 7th, 2006.  
Second Revision: August 4th, 2006.  
_


	5. Chapter 4: Gifts

**Chapter 4 ... Gifts**

_Actually, the male shinobi should have already been giving minor gifts to the female shinobi during the course of the previous chapters._

_However, this chapter refers to specific gifts. Personal gifts._

_But before getting into that, one should remember a small list of not-so-personal gifts. _

-Flowers  
-Confectionary (chocolates/candy/etc) **1.**  
-Favourite foods **1.**  
-Small time simple weapons (Kunai, Senbon needles, etc)

_(**1.** for everything sacred between ninja, find out what they're allergic to and make sure to avoid it!)_

_Then the personal gifts._

-Expensive jewelry (hair-pieces, etc)  
-Larger weapons (including short/long swords, large shurikens, etc)  
-Ornate weapons (embroidered, etc)

_Once up to the personal gifts, the male shinobi should always engrave something in these to remind their recipients of them._

_This can either be the male shinobi's name, but something better is usually something to associate with the name. Maybe the clan symbol or perhaps an image reflecting the ninja's name._

_Simple poetry is also a big plus at this stage..._

* * *

Naruto stopped there, as the rest of the chapter detailed the types of poetry to use, existing poetry to use as a base and even visual instructions how to wrap certain kinds of gifts. 

It would be some minutes later when he somehow tied up his own hands, the blond ninja would convince himself to skip practising wrapping presents and move on to poetry.

It wouldn't be long before he'd finish it and run over to present it to Sakura...

* * *

DISCLAIMER: In Soviet Russia, you own Naruto. Over here, Naruto owns you. 

**Single Ninja on the Town**  
By Arkhe  
**Chapter 4 :** Gifts  
**Subtitle -** On The Winds of Temari

* * *

Naruto ambled along, kicking away various pebbles that dare crossed his path. Had Akamaru got in his way, he would have even given the canine a good punting. If he was thinking little more clearly, he would have used a shadow replication to kick his own head in. 

Yes, he was that disgruntled.

"Damn it!" Naruto snapped at how poorly his meeting went.

It started off well enough when he found Sakura. He professed that he'd made a poem for her and despite her initial soft-spoken refusal, she eventually caved in and decided on _'humoring him by listening to it'_ quote unquote. It should be noted that she was smiling the entire duration of their exchange.

And so, he stood straight, cleared his throat a few times and went on to recite his Haiku; a poem that had 3 syllables in the first line, then 5 in the second and then 3 again in the last.

_Sakura  
is a cute girl, from  
Naruto _

Needless to say, at its finish they both stood there looking blankly at each other for quite a while.   
The situation suffered an epileptic fit of ambiguous Win and Failings. (But mostly failings.)

Watching Naruto's expectant face, Sakura realised that she's supposed to say something and she begins with a grateful smile. It is clear that it's certainly forced AND fractured. She blushed from both flattery AND embarrassment -for the both of them! The pink-haired genin also felt the urge to laugh, cry AND get angry -all at the same time!

She barely managed to suppress all (negative) impulses and instead, settles on giving him a pat on the back and a pity _'thank you'_ to save face. At that point, it was more for her benefit than his.

So here Naruto was, now wandering through the shopping district.

He'd met adversity and its name was poetry!  
Thus he turned to something that he was doing quite well in so far...

Presents!

...Just not actually wrapping it himself, of course.

---

After raising false hopes on several different occasions in looking for that _perfect gift_ for his Sakura-chan, Naruto would finally stumble across something.

It's only too bad that it would count as a misadventure, as it's very much the _wrong_ thing to give her.

"Hey, I can't help but see your crest-fallen look, kid!" An elder man commented at Naruto's slumped posture.

"Who? Me?" The blond genin glanced up alarmed, looking side to side to make sure it was he that was being addressed.

The geriatric nodded and his cane spun in a flourish that indicated a possible showboat or ninja background... Possibly the worst of both.

"I bet it's woman troubles, isn't it?"

"How did you know?" Naruto gasped.

An alligator grinned.

"Boy, do I have a deal for you!"

---

"Are you sure about this?"

"Sure! Girls just love this shit!"

---

Before long, Naruto found himself fleeced a large amount of money and earning a fancily gift-wrapped, velvet choker for his efforts.

"The heck...?" He turned the box over and over in his hand, still trying to come to grips with how he purchased it.

Actually, he didn't know anyone who wears this sort of neck-bind. Well, there was the exception of Haku, but he was a dude.

"I think Sakura's going to be upset with me for this..." Naruto winced, and decided on not giving the odd gift to her.

For once, he made the right decision consciously.

---

At the same moment just further down the street, a certain duo were also taking a stroll to be out of hearing range from their sister.

"We've got to ditch her! Today's the last day for the book-signing!" Kankuro frantically wailed. "We'll never hear the end of it from her if she finds out!"

Gaara of the Desert looked over to his brother with a neutral stare.

"Don't give me that!" Kankuro exclaimed, his face heating up at his brother's silence. "You read Come Come Violence like your life depended on it!" The older boy accused.

Gaara looked away. The older boy started fretting again, but paused when his brother spoke aloud.

"We will need a diversion." The younger sand-sibling stated concisely.

"Yeah, but how wil--" The puppet-using ninja started, before Gaara's open palm halted him in mid-question.

The puppet-user followed the sand-user's gaze until it rested on a certain blond Uzumaki -who just happened to be strolling towards them down the opposite side of the block.

"Him."

Kankuro tugged at the collar of his costume. "Err... Don't get hasty now Gaara..." He nervously said, whilst thinking back to his younger brother's battle with that specific ninja.

"He is our distraction." Gaara gave Kankuro a pointed look, as if daring his older brother to disagree.

Wisely, Kankuro did not.

---

Depending on your point of view, Naruto's day was about to either get better or worse.

"Hey! It's Naruto!" A voice excitedly greeted the leaf ninja.

The aforementioned male found himself on the receiving end of a pat on the back from a sand ninja in a black full-body cat-suit.

"Wha?" He mumbled being caught off guard, immediately wondering where this show of friendliness suddenly came from.

"Naruto."

Looking over to his other side, the blond ninja found himself caught in Gaara's glare -effectively shutting up the poor leaf ninja.

"Look, we're in a bit of a bind here..." Kankuro pulled Naruto closer with his arm around Naruto's shoulder in a friendly act of camaraderie. "See... Me and the bro want to go... drinking and stuff." Kankuro pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Gaara, then imitated downing a bottle with his other hand.

The younger boy nodded slowly when Naruto briefly looked his way.

"And we don't want the sister hanging around, you know?" Naruto gave the make-up-wearing ninja a confused look. A confused, but certainly a _'not stupid'_ look.

"A guy thing." Gaara inserted when he noted that Naruto was not falling for their plan.

A light bulb went off in Naruto's head. Not that it actually shone on anything, mind you. He'd just heard _'guy thing'_ and being a guy, he felt the need to co-operate, despite the obvious discrepancies -like the brothers not being of legal drinking age for one.

"Yeah!" The puppet-using genin snidely took to it Gaara's suggestion. "Just.. I dunno, take our sister around the places you'd go. Show her around, let her buy that crap whatever girls buy..."

Before Naruto could protest them dumping their sister off on him, Kankuro desperately shoved several bills into the leaf genin's hand. With Naruto's penchant luck with money, he earned back all he spent on the collar and much more.

"Basically, we just want you to distract her for a bit and keep her away from a certain place." Kankuro summed up the proposition.

"Can I get ramen?" Naruto asked permission for his first love, slowly becoming infatuated with the idea of being paid to do some of the things he wanted to do.

"Hell yeah, go nuts."

And that sealed the deal.

With the agreement made, Gaara and Kankuro bid their farewell as they went off to their own devices, leaving Naruto to stand at the entrance of a store waiting for a specific female citizen of the Hidden Sand to exit.

---

"Hey Kankuro, Gaara! You should see this..." Temari started whilst exiting the store carrying a shopping bag. However, instead of finding her brothers, Temari had come across a certain genin of the Hidden Leaf.

"Ummm... Hi?" She greeted nervously, frantically searching for a sign of one of her siblings.

Make no mistake, Temari was very wary of the blond standing in front of her. Yes, this was the very same kid who'd beaten the absolute shit out of her _DEMON-POSSESSED_ brother. And not only did he beat Gaara, but he'd somehow also beat something _INTO_ Gaara's head. Her brother was now alot more humble, patient and less prone to solve problems with his tried and tested method -squishing things with sand.

So, anyone who could turn her brother into a martyr certainly was someone to be reckoned with.

"Heya!" Came Naruto's enthusiastic salutation.

"Umm... Do you know where my brothers are?" Temari's eyes flicked around, this time looking for traces of a scuffle; mainly in the terms of torn down buildings and debris... Or maybe blood smears.

"They're around somewhere." He shrugged.

That grin was really starting to creep her out.

"Hey, want to get ramen with me?" He cut in before she could excuse herself.

"Huh?" Then she did a double-take. "You want to take me out!-?"

"Yeah!" The implication had gone right over his head. "You know, ramen? Well, let's get some!"

Temari had to quickly conclude that her brothers were either being held ransom or that they were already dead. Either way, it looked to be an offer she couldn't refuse.

"Okay." She accepted out of fear.

---

At first, Temari thought that Naruto was a clever little bastard to act so clueless, stupid and being downright loud, as was his attitude was consistent from the first time she met him and until now.

However, soon after arriving at Ichiraku, Naruto was in the middle of ranting about his exploits to be, the idiocy of perverts and his goal for Hokage whilst tearing through his 8th bowl, that had something dawn on the fan-using kunoichi.

The blond boy _IS_ a clueless, stupid and a downright loud, little bastard!

And how he beat Gaara, looking to be as harmless as she realised he was, she would probably never know! It truly was an impossible paradox that the moron could defeat her genius, possessed brother.

However, despite those failings, he was also determined, enthusiastic and ambitious. Very ambitious. Aiming for the village's highest title ambitious. It was at least admirable.

So, when he offered to take her out shopping, she accepted. Of course, it's not like she could turn it down when he had offered to pay for her things! And the fact that she'd finally figured her brothers bailing out on her helped in making her acceptance that much sweeter.

---

It would be thanks to the first store that would set the mood for the afternoon. Having realised that she had a male -though a fashion impaired one- but a male nonetheless accompany her, Temari eventually got around to asking Naruto for his opinion on her choices.

Considering how Jiraiya's manual had instructed never to argue with a woman, Naruto would always agree amiably. However, it should be pointed out that had the book not said so, the blond Leaf ninja would have done so anyway -what with Temari's very agreeable curves as it is.

To her pleasant surprise, the eldest sand-sibling would find that despite her younger consort's boisterous and 'anti-pervert' views, he was also easily cowed by, ironically enough, her 'innocently' posing for him with the many and varied choices of clothing available. And boy, Naruto could attest to the clothing being many and varied.

This in turn had led the sand ninja to be quite tickled pink by Naruto's dramatic mood changes, thus the blond kunoichi would continue to purposely tease him by picking even racier clothing. This became quite the hobby as with every store they visited, had them walk out with even more purchases up to the point where Naruto employed shadow replications and even then, Temari used those as a judging guide to her purchases.

The ratio of reactions:purchase Temari interpreted and termed were as follows:  
-A handful of raised eyebrows and open mouths would have the clothing to be _'under consideration'_.   
-Open gaping and/or dropping bags would constitute as _'pretty endearing'_.   
-A shadow clone (or a handful) dispelling themselves out of sheer disbelief was _'plausibly special'_.  
and finally; (though she'd yet to do so)  
-A royal flush; otherwise a clean out of all the doppelgangers and felling the original was _'definitely a keeper'_.

Greatly enjoying his company and manipulating him for her own whims, Temari never suspected that Naruto was also manipulating her in his own way as to keep her from visiting a certain district as to where she might coincidently walk into a specific pair she was related to. 

---

It was now after several hours since their lunch at the Ichiraku, the female sand-sibling had just entered another store on her spree and Naruto was left with handling all of her purchases and was forcibly waiting outside -it just wasn't the type of clothing store for young men to be in, especially not younger, _younger_ men.

Taking this time-out for a breather, the original Naruto tiredly leaned against a nearby wall, allowing himself to ease up on his strained arms. The chakra consorts took this time to whine to each other and make small talk, getting odd looks from passer-bys.

"I think I'm in over my head..." Naruto complained before he turned a little angry and threw an evil eye in the general direction of the two males who'd put him up to this. "Those sand-guys owe me big time!"

Then he noticed _it_ out of the corner of his eye. Though several other articles of cloth covered the most of _it_, there was something about _it_ that called to him.

Leaving his share of bags with the entourage, he entered the shop and had a closer look at what caught his eye. And _it_ caused Naruto to smile.

He found Sakura's _perfect gift_.

---

The duo finally arrived at Temari's current place of stay. Her brothers hadn't arrived before them, so then she'd started putting away her many purchases, whilst leaving Naruto to seat himself on the steps outside. Eventually, he began to ponder over his original gift to Sakura.

"What to do, what to do?" He mumbled as he pulled the present from out of his holster and proceeded to turn the box containing the choker over and over. "I mean, there's no way I'm giving it to Sakura-chan, no way I can return it and no way I'm wearing it!"

It's easily justifiable why he wouldn't give it to Sakura or why he wouldn't wear it himself, but returning the collar was definitely out of the question. He'd managed to spot the stall during Temari's spree and as soon as he tried to approach it, the older man cackled and in a flurry of leaves disappeared; stall and all! Crazy, stingy old man!

Unfortunately Naruto had been so caught up in his musings that he'd failed to see Temari approach, who _luckily_ did not catch the tail-end of his thinking out loud.

"What's that you got there?" The girl of the sand asked, having finished her activity of putting away her purchases.

"Erk..." The whiskered boy panicked at being caught off guard. He scrambled for an answer and was quick to turn to a certain book for guidance -or to be specific, the same chapter he was currently up to.

"I g-got this earlier t-today and it err... reminded umm... me of... you...?" He finished uncertainly, holding out the gift-wrapped present against his better judgement.

Blinking, Temari accepted and started unwrapping her gift with mild excitement. Naruto's clones that he'd forgotten to negate, realised the situation before he did and they all inwardly groaned with a clone or two slapping their heads in resignation.

Seeing the clones' reactions, Naruto realised he'd just handed a gift he'd never give to Sakura-chan to another girl. He mentally kicked himself over and over again, figuring he was going to be in for it.

When Temari took out the choker, she gave pause and blinked several times over, simply staring at the cloth.

When her gaze switched to Naruto, the boy closed his eyes, tucked his hands behind his head helplessly, grinned and then followed it with a shrug. He earnestly hoped that his sweating profusely wasn't too obvious.

Her gaze swept over to the other Naruto clones (who tried to look inconspicuous), before settling back on the one that had handed it to her.

However, Temari had no intention of hitting him.

"I think it's kind of kinky." An odd smile had spread over her face, as she proceeded to slip the collar on.

Naruto felt his jaw drop and, for some reason, all the clones instantly dispelled themselves (causing Temari's grin to wryly widen though she pretended she didn't notice).

"There's still a bit of light outside." Temari stated once the cloth was securely hugging her neck, effectively bringing Naruto out of his gaping. "Any place interesting around here to finish up the day with?"

"It's nearly sunset..." The younger man noted when he glanced over to the direction of the sunlight streaming in from one of the windows.

Suddenly, he grabbed Temari's hand.

"I want to show you my favourite place!"

The sand ninja's brows furrowed, but she nodded her consent and they sped away.

---

Temari would soon find herself, looking over the entire city on top of the Hokage monument. She'd taken a few steps away from her tour guide and allowed her breath to be taken away by the sheer undeniably astounding view of the whole Hidden Leaf that bathed in summer shades of the setting star.

"Someday, my face will be up here! I guarantee it!" Naruto exclaimed watching the other blond with an apt interest and waiting for her to reply.

Temari turned around and chuckled. "You? Hokage? No offense Uzumaki, but you aren't exactly the sharpest kunai in the pack."

Naruto ignored the quip and calmly walked past her.

"I may not be smart or be really strong or I'm popular for the wrong reasons..." The blond boy admitted.

He'd reached the tip of a strand of the Fourth's stone hair and she trailed after him at a more sedate pace.

"But I know I'll keep learning, keep growing and everyone will have to eventually like me if I keep saving them!" He clenched a fist and held it at arms length.

Then he turned to Temari and opened his hand, holding it out for her take.

"And, no matter what, I'll protect this place 'til the day I die." He vowed.

"Just watch me." In that split second, the sun had set a pinnacle right behind Naruto's head, framing his wild blond hair in a golden halo.

And Temari held her breath.

Where Shikamaru's lazy demeanour contrast with his hidden brilliance, that created a mystery and set Temari's heart on a curious flutter...

...Naruto's inspiration had ignited a spark of something indefinable.

It may have been only a spark now, Temari knew, but if properly cultivated, the person who would tame this sunset storm would never have to glance elsewhere for more devotion, pride and potential that stood before her.

So caught up in her realisation, that Naruto was left hanging and he'd tilted his head at her in confusion. It caused her to finally break out of her trance and she more than willingly took his waiting hand.

But she'd cheekishly pulled him down hard instead.

He'd flailed wildly, falling towards her, but she scooped him up easily and held him in a tight embrace. Hearing her melodious laugh echo in his ear, Naruto allowed himself to relax and take in the moment.

When she'd finally began loosening her grip, her mouth moved in on his ear and whispered.

"If anyone can do it, it'd be you, Uzumaki."

And just as she was pulling away, Naruto's back stiffened lightly. She'd impishly gave his cheek a quick peck.

With her actions giving justified cause to her rather noticably growing blush, Temari unfolded her large fan, jumped on and sailed off the monument, heading towards the direction of where she and her brothers were taking up temporary residence in a deliberate effort to put as much distance between herself and the leaf ninja.

By the time Naruto was ready to say something, Temari was already a fair distance away (-lucky for her, considering Naruto's penchant luck to ruin moments.)

He could only look on silently, as she sailed further away and he rubbed at his cheek, confused.

However when she gave a wave over her back, he returned it.

Course, he also stumbled over when it all sunk in.

"The heck was that!-?"

---

"I-Ino-san? What're you doing at N-Naruto-kun's house?"

"Eep! Hinata!" The platinum blonde-haired halted, flailing for an excuse to give her violet-haired companion.

Luckily, she was saved from answering when someone else appeared.

"Hey... You guys beat me here." Tenten walked up to the duo. "Is Naruto in?"

"No. He hasn't been home all of day!" The blond female folded her arms irritated.

This caused Hinata's eyes to widen and she was about to ask how the Yamanaka knew that when said female gave an odd look to the weapon-using kunoichi and brought up a more interesting question.

"What brings you here anyway?"

"Ah!" The hair-bunned girl recoiled slightly at Ino's accusing tone and it caused her to flounder for an excuse. She wasn't about to tell them that she trailed Hinata from the distance.

"Cause err... I wanted to... train... with him." Her answer didn't sound very convincing.

Her audience of the Yamanaka and Hyuuga heiresses looked Tenten over once and gave the older girl a skeptical look.

"Riiiiight..." Ino drew out the 'i'.

Hinata hadn't said anything, but she did look displeased. Flushing at having her lie caught, Tenten blushed but was quick to turn the tables over.

"So what are the _both of you _doing here, then?"

This immediately cowed both Ino and Hinata. They both had the grace to blush.

"Wanted to train with him too." The blond girl replied. Hinata nodded in agreement.

They all stood in awkward silence for a bit, each in a deep shade of crimson, until Tenten decided on moving things along as all their motives were brought to light. "So both of you haven't seen him too, huh?"

Ino and Hinata shook their heads.

"I've been to all his haunts." Ino admitted. "I bet Hinata did too."

If the timid girl could blush harder, she would.

"Where could he be then?" Tenten muttered as she tilted her head back.

She caught movement in the corner of her eyes and focusing on it, she discerned that it was Temari -the one genin that denied her chance at becoming chuunin. She fumed at how effortlessly the sand girl flew by overhead on her fan. If she met that girl face to face, it would be too soon!

"Oh! It's Temari-san!"

The sand-female's motion didn't go by unnoticed by Tenten's companions either.

"She probably have saw Naruto from up there!" Ino exclaimed, before taking off after the gliding ninja with Hinata in tow.

Tenten inwardly screamed, but she followed the other girls' lead.  
There were bigger things at stake here!

---

Temari had just touched down at the door of her current residence and was in the middle of retrieving her keys from her pockets when three panting familiar-looking females interrupted her.

"Have you seen Naruto?" The blond one cut to the chase.

Temari lifted an eyebrow at that and scanned her crowd. There was a blond girl, a white-eyed girl (who gave a polite but shy greeting) and a hair-bunned... Ah! They were all the girls who got to the Chuunin exam preliminaries! The last one lost to her!

She grinned favourably at the weapons user, who scowled, folded her arms and looked away.  
When the platinum blond started tapping her foot impatiently, Temari got back to the issue at hand.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Temari asked for clarification to which her audience nodded in reply. "Yeah, he's at the Hokage monument. I was just there and-"

"C'mon!" Someone interrupted her and they all made a hasty beeline for the Leaf's monument.

And just like that, Temari was alone again, unable to continue her explanation for why she AND Naruto were there together.

Giving it a shrug, she entered her abode and greeted her brothers a good evening. Though the evening would not get better for said brothers.

---

Meanwhile, back on the Hokage monument...

"What am I still doing here!-?" Naruto finally found his thoughts.

"I got to find Sakura-chan to give her the present I got for her!" And with that, he dashed off leaving the monument and the deep silence that it was normally privy to.

However, silence didn't mean empty. There was still one person in the vicinity. The Toad Hermit (who had seen the whole torrid affair from a distance) was furiously writing into a notebook and tears were streaming down his face, much alike what you would see on a waterfall.

"I can't believe he got so far on the first date with the exotic sand girl!"

Then he'd paused in realisation.

"And he didn't even read the dating chapter!"

Despite his great physical condition, the old frog sage started to hyperventilate.

"THAT MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!"

He growled several more times and using more expletives, before finally calming down enough to reach for a leather-bound manual and writing at a less speedy pace.

He wasn't too surprised when a group of three females burst into the scene. However, he had to keep switching between note book and manual from the new ideas pouring fourth thanks to this particular running gag.

* * *

_Single Ninja on the Town_ - **Amendments.  
**_Amended Chapter Four_ ...** Gifts**

_Also, personal gifts do not have to revolve around the ninja profession. A gift bearing a resemblance or of great sentimentality representing both male and female shinobi would probably be the best gift to give (barring a certain binding ring; which this guide does NOT cover THAT topic). _

_These gifts should be thought around the premise of a significant event, like that of during the first meeting or periods of fond or humorous memories.  
For example, if the first meeting took place nearby a field of flowers, it's probably a good idea to collect the very same flowers for a very special bouquet.  
Likewise example, if the kunoichi has a fond memory of an event coinciding with the male shinobi, then perhaps a simple trinket with an engraving (whether one or the other should be relevant of said event) would be advisable._

_Remember; the irony makes it all the more endearing. _

_(For that last one, it's probably for the best that that sort of thing should only be done; if there is absolutely no chance of a separation, lest the male ninja has just signed over a prop for retelling a bitter -and likely more exaggerated and more embarrassing- story)_

---

**End of Chapter 4 ... Gifts.  
**_Next up!_  
**Chapter 5 ...** Dating.  
**Subtitle:** Kunoichi's Just Wanna Have Fun!

* * *

**Author's Notes:**  
Yes, yes. Sorry folks, but not only have I been on Writer's Block, but I got less than 2 weeks to enroll in University. Wish me luck! I'll need it. -.-; 

You know, I originally had Naruto buy an ivory comb, but I kinda realised that Sakura would probably like that sort of thing. Thus, the odd collar.

You might've noticed that I didn't say anything about the perfect gift or the book signing or how the girls didn't find him when he was on the town... All in good time. There's only 2 chapters left!

Edit: Special thanks to Kuzosama for correcting me on the whole collar/choker thing! I'd kept forgetting the word to change every time I edited this chapter and now, it's out! Thanks again for pointing it out!

_Uploaded: December 3rd, 2005.  
First Revision: February 7th, 2006.  
Second Revision: August 9th, 2006.  
Third Revision: January 12th, 2007.  
_


	6. Chapter 5: Dating

**Chapter 5 ... Dating**

_By this point, the male shinobi and the female shinobi should now be at a perfect understanding. She should know that he's attracted to her, and if all goes well, she will also be attracted right back._

_Now, the art of the date requires alot of care._

_Simply, just for the ninja to take out the desired female to a movie and a place to eat. That is the generic date._

_Though, the male shinobi should be aware that a date boils down to a very few key elements. These are usually two tandem activities; usually one being a place to eat._

_General activities include: _  
-A walk through a park, beach or other area of general interest  
-A holiday resort   
-A shopping trip for the kunoichi   
-A visit to a local entertainment venue   
-An accompany to a festival   
-An inspection of the museum   
-A pass to the closest tourist attraction   
_and so on, and so on, and so on..._

_However, activities involving food are more difficult, as this usually involves either treating her at a restaurant (usually the more expensive the better), packing a picnic or even a basic invitation for a quiet dinner at home with a home-cooked meal. All of which, must be taken great care in considering what she likes to eat and avoiding what she is allergic to.  
_

_But remember, just as long as the male shinobi can obtain time together with the kunoichi, it still counts as a date -even if it's not declared out loud. Even things such as a treat at a food stand, paying for her at the shopping district or even a sunset view -anything about being together can be constituted as a date!_

_So just mix, match and make your own ways of getting together!   
The possibilities are endless!_

* * *

It took Naruto most of a good portion of several hours from morning to noon to complete a standard D-Rank mission with his team.   
It took him just a little over an hour to read over the whole of the dating chapter.   
It took him less than several seconds to make a connection between the book and the day before. 

"No... It's only ramen... We couldn't have... People buy stuff all the time... I mean it's not like...A sunset or nothing..." He unintelligibly muttered in disbelief. "Me and Temari were on a date!-? That's crazy talk!"

After a long silent moment, the young blond shinobi summarised his doubt in a single word:

"But..."

And it was because of this doubt that urged him into action to side with caution that, instead of directly seeking out Sakura or Iruka for their take on things like he usually does, Naruto decided to go looking for Tsunade instead.

It was probably good insight to seek out advice from the elder.  
...but if only it was just any other day than this one.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: In Soviet Russia, you own Naruto. Over here, Naruto owns you. 

**Single Ninja on the Town**  
By Arkhe  
**Chapter 5 :** Dating  
**Subtitle -** Kunoichi's Just Wanna Have Fun

* * *

Hinata was a feeling a little anxious about today. She had some unsorted feelings towards Naruto and, as much as she wanted time to figure it out, the other girls were starting to see the whiskered-boy under a different light. 

In other words, Hinata knew she was going against the clock.

Currently, it was common knowledge among the other kunoichi's that Naruto was on a mission today. Not that it was a problem for the Hyuuga-heiress. Her teacher had dismissed her team's training today (claiming the need to be elsewhere), so Hinata both had the time and the means to be able to search the blond boy out.

So, with the thought of competition and a time limit hanging over her shoulder, the pale-eyed girl had a boost of confidence that, hopefully, would allow her courage to hold out when asking Naruto for more than the time.

She'd wanted to confront him while he was at home, but she stalled for so long that by the time she decided to strive onward, he left his house again -effectively setting her back. However, once he entered into more familiar areas, Hinata tapped into a well of courage and she dove head-first.

"N-Naruto-kun!" She called out to him after he'd walked into more _'coincidental public areas'_ instead of _'coincidental stalking areas'_.

"Hi Hinata-chan!" He paused in mid-step and greeted her. "What's up?"

Before she could get a word out, Naruto followed it up with a question.

"Hey, were you busy on Friday or something?" He asked with a tilt of his head. "When you weren't coming, I went to look for you but I couldn't find you."

"A-ah... My t-teacher, K-Kurenai-sensei-" She was quickly interrupted by Naruto's impatient guesses.

"Ah, teacher held you back, huh? Yeah, Kakashi-sensei does that to us sometimes too." They both nodded understandingly for the well-meaning of their own instructors, though Naruto was quick to add under his breath. "Lazy bastard... If he came on time, then we wouldn't need to stay back..."

"What was that?" Not quite catching that last part, Hinata tilted her in question at Naruto's mumbled after-thought.

Embarrassed at being caught, the blond shinobi shifted topics. "Wow, Hinata!" He exclaimed, looking her over with a wide open mouth in exclamation. "You're going somewhere, huh? Maybe some posh clan-thing, right?"

The loud male's current theory had been based on the observation of the timid female's choice of clothes. Not that it was different from what she normally wore, it's just that Hinata had accessorized to appear more 'dressed up' for a casual outing. This included a necklace and more form-fitting formal pair of black pants, wherein the fabric did look more expensive than the norm.

Hinata shook her head at his guess. She was only dressed up a little more for one reason and it was to catch someone's eye to which it apparently successfully did so...

"Oho! You're going on a date!" Naruto somehow correctly guessed second time around.

The Hyuuga blushed a deep crimson and looked away, a hand of hers going up to cover her features. Not one to be known for being subtle, Naruto took the gesture as an excuse to keep prodding.

"Who's the lucky guy? Kiba? Or maybe Shino?"

The female student of Team 8 blushed further. She hadn't really entertained the notion of having a relationship with her teammates at all. Well, atleast because a certain out-spoken genin was always figuratively standing at the forefront of her mind. Ironically enough, said aforementioned genin was also literally standing infront of her at this current moment.

"N-no. I'm not involved with th-" She was about to deny any links above a professional and friendly relationship with her teammates when Naruto interrupted her for the umpteenth time they started conversing.

"No wait. How stupid of me! I remember hearing this from somewhere!" Naruto blinked with a sort of realisation slowly dawning over his face. "You big hosh-posh clans have some sort of arranged-marriages, right? That means it's someone from your clan!"

The idiot blond then grasped for the only other Hyuuga name he knew of.

"You're off on a date with Neji!"

"NO!" Hinata was surprised with the quick and vehement denial in her voice. Neji had been alot nicer to her lately, yes, but... a while back, he also wasn't entirely looking out for her well-being. And she saw him as an older brother and they were still mending that rift from that event several years back and... and... and alot of other things! She just needed to think more on it!

The unbidden thoughts had quickly started to eat at her courage, so Hinata forced her hand before it was too late.

"Actually, Naruto... I was wanting to ask if you-" Only to be interrupted again.

"Ah geeze." The blond genin interrupted yet again when he made a glance for his watch. "You're gonna have to tell me about it another time, Hinata-chan! I want to see Tsunade-obaachan and I got to go now before she tries to avoid work and goes to get plastered!"

The whiskered ninja spun on his heel and took a few hurried steps before looking over his shoulder and added as an after-thought. "See ya! Let's train together some time!"

And just like that, Naruto had ran off to the administration building, leaving Hinata to her thoughts. Specifically, the worrisome ones about whether or not she was going to be arranged to her wayward cousin. Most of the Hyuuga elders had Hyuuga wives after all...

Coming to the conclusion that the possibility was all too likely, Hinata headed home to examine her family laws. She knew of only a handful of Hyuuga that married outside the clan and she was determined to make sure that she'd be able to choose who her wayward spouse will be.

Hopefully wayward in a good sort of way.

---

It was in a few scant minutes that Naruto finally reached the Hidden Leaf's Administration building and it took him even less time than that to reach the Hokage's office...

..Only to find the room unoccupied.

"Where's the old lady?" Naruto asked the nearest clerical ninja, as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder and indicated towards the empty work-space.

"She's in a meeting right now." The random nameless passer-by replied, wincing at Naruto's disrespect. "You'll just have to come by some other time." And with that, the unimportant person had disappeared to parts where unimportant people disappear to.

Naruto glanced from hallway to hallway. He more or less knew the whole layout of the Tower (what with his constant visits to the late Third Hokage) and started on his way, choosing a seemingly random direction. Since his reputation preceded him, Naruto knew he couldn't ask anyone where the room was, so he followed his instinct. When he eventually came across a door with two Anbu guarding it, he knew he came across the right place...

The way the Anbu noticed him coming and moved to defend the entry point only confirmed things...

Oh and the sudden appearance of other ninja were proof that it was going to be difficult...

But Naruto loved those odds more than anything and his hands were already in position for a handseal...

---

Several moments prior, an assembly of the Leaf's ninja members of a specific minority had gathered. They're goal was simple. It was supposed to be about brainstorming the recruitment process, as well as a general gathering on group support and exchanging tips in training students and such.

So when Naruto burst in, whilst being unsuccessfully restrained by two Anbu personnel and several nameless ninja clerics/accountants (all except Naruto were bleeding from the nose) and the whiskered boy was claiming that he needed to see the Hokage, everyone was very much interested in what he had to say. Though coming from Naruto, they expected that it probably wouldn't be all too informative.

Knowing exactly how to deal with this, Tsunade ordered Naruto be let go and for the excessive amount of people to leave.

"This had better be important, Naruto..." The blond Hokage growled and prodded the interrupter of their meeting to explain himself.

However, Naruto couldn't find his voice at this point. He'd took one look at the crowd and merely opened and closed his mouth in a startling imitation of a gold fish. When the Hokage tapped her foot impatiently, the action had gotten through and caused the young boy to remember her infamous temper -inconjunction with her even more infamous colossal strength that was usually proven as the follow up to the aforementioned temper.

"Can I... uhh... talk to you... ermm... in private?" The young male squeaked.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and her lips tightened into a thin line. "You have interrupted our scheduled Kunoichi Gathering, Naruto." She stood and indicated to her audience of annoyed females. Among the faces, Naruto was able to easily discern Shizune, Kurenai and Anko.

"We, the female ninjas of the Leaf, are discussing formal events concerning kunoichi enrollment, as well as other very important topics that we have had to schedule weeks ahead..." Tsunade had taken a step to punctuate every word and now stood nose-to-nose with the blond boy.

"And now you want to talk with me in private?" She hissed.

Naruto nodded uneasily.

The Hokage then swiveled, faced her entourage of female jounins and placing a hand around the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure what ever you have to say, can be shared with all here, am I right everyone?"

Shizune, Kurenai, Yuugao, Suzume as well as a handful of other women nodded. Anko leered from her seat. Their reaction had Naruto audibly swallow in worry.

"So you better say it now, in front of everyone, or else I'm having you banned from the Tower unless you make a formal appointment like everyone else." The Hokage casually threatened the youth.

"Banned...?" Naruto squeaked further.

"Banned. B. A. Double N. E. D. Banned. Prohibited. Forbidden. Banished. Exclude. Outlaw. Restrict..." Tsunade counted off a few synonyms as she examined her nails coolly.

Naruto's face contorted to reflect his internal conflict. "It's... It's..." He repeated like a broken record.

After a moment or two of this, the Hokage had enough. "Okay, I now formally proclaimed you, Uzumaki Naruto, ban-"

"IT'S ABOUT A GIRL!" Naruto panicked, willing to sacrifice his dignity to keep his unannounced visiting priveleges.

This had the majority of the females present to blink and start a small round of pointed murmuring.

"Is that all?" Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Should I go to Ero-sennin about it then?" Naruto folded his arms indignantly. Tsunade and Shizune shared a knowing frowned, being the only people who knew who Naruto was referring to as a 'pervert hermit'.

"I did say we could speak as long as you do it in front of my associates, Naruto..." Tsunade said carefully, an eye on the many faces watching her and Naruto. Her audience had looked alot more disgruntled at her proclamation for the continual interruption of their meeting. That and some people still felt a little apprehensive towards Naruto's history.

"... Besides, it is better that you get advice from actual women, rather then seeking advice from **Jiraiya**." She made sure to pronounce the last part rather loudly for her associates' benefit. This time, their audience had looked alot more agreeable about her decision; Naruto was the lesser of two evils at that point.

Tsunade then brought an arm around Naruto and started guiding him to the head of the table. However, before she could get started on drilling for the specifics, she noticed an extra person within the room. There appeared to be a generic female clericical ninja attempting to look more generic, whilst standing at the door. This had the Slug Sage to narrow her eyes in suspicion.

"You." She addressed the female. "What's your purpose here?"

The interrogated had paused from writing in her notepad, to look up surprised at being pointed out. She sputtered for a second or two, before declaring that she was just keeping an eye on the boy and was ready to call Anbu if necessary.

Tsunade eyed the newcomer with distaste, but eventually let the girl off the hook -provided she stays at her place next to the door, to which the girl quickly agreed.

The Hokage then prompted Naruto to speak on exactly what was on his mind and the troubled boy admitted that it was dating. This had the crowd move into relative consideration about their own abysmal love-lives, which opened up casual talks between the members.

Eventually, Tsunade called order.

"I think we should ask him his plans first." She suggested. "Then we can correct him and give him tips at what he should be doing."

Everyone agreed to this and Naruto was allowed to speak.

"Well, errr... What should I say?" He asked for clarification.

"Like where are you going to for a first, second and third date." Someone helpfully advised.

"First, second and third..." Naruto tilted his head to the side and tapped his chin. "Hey, hey, I was thinking, a movie and dinner?" He concluded with a shrug. "You know? For the first date?"

"Geeze, that's pretty standard." Anko rolled her eyes at the simplicity that she found so absurd.

"It's only the first date." Kurenai reprimanded the scathing jounin. "Don't be so harsh on him. He's still a kid."

The once-snake apprentice relented, but unwilling to be cowed, she'd added in her own advice. "Fine, but don't forget, guys have to pay for the date!"

"No, they don't." Shizune butted in. "It's a mutual decision by both parties to attend a date together." Then she turned and gave Naruto her advice on the matter. "But it usually denotes a chivalrous nature if the man does intend to treat the woman by taking the bill."

Anko childishly folded her arms and hmph'd at her disregarded views, muttering something about 'cheap ramen dates anyway'.

Naruto opened his mouth to ask someone to explain to him what 'chivalrous' meant, but Tsunade prodded him to continue with his thoughts for the second date. So Naruto did so.

"For the second one, I was thinking I'll help her learn how to walk on water!"

The statement got both disapproving and speculating looks, but Naruto quickly detailed how he was thinking about a lunch-time date nearby a waterfall he used to train by. Maybe a picnic lunch and then they could practise water-walking and generally messing around until they were tired -which ought to be around the time the sun would set and figured that they could watch it together.

This had Naruto's audience blinking in wonder and mild disbelief. To the skewed view of the regular kunoichi, it seemed that this was a brilliant idea and none of them had ever expected anyone, let alone the Uzumaki, to even think of it. Each female was suddenly reminded of how terrible and dysfunctional some of their own dates went. If they were even dates, for that matter, as some would admit that their 'first date' anniversaries were based on the day they managed to get their tongues inside their respective partner's mouths while on a mission.

More than a little disturbed at the silence (or rather at how each woman went into their own reverie), Naruto continued with his idea for the third date. It consisted of saving up to go to either a really lavish restaurant or for some luxury treatment at the hot springs which was a lead up to his finale.

"Then I was also thinking of getting her a kunai as a present then. See, see, it's because of our training on walking up trees and we'd have to slash the tree to indicate how far we got, right? Well, I was having trouble, so I asked her for help and though she didn't have to, she told me stuff that helped me out!" Naruto's excitement was getting him a little off-track and he was quick to get back on the issue.

"So anyway, I'm going to go get a custom, good-quality kunai made so I can have it engraved with a picture of a tree and maybe a haiku on the handle so it'd make her remember what she did for me! And if I can afford it, I'll see if I can get someone to maybe add something special -like a hollow handle for needles or tags or something!"

The silence was deafening and when no one was willing to remark, fox-vessel wilted and took it as a bad omen. "Bad idea, huh?"

At this point, Anko would have made some sort of disparaging exclamation, like perhaps _'I need you!'_ or _'Have my baby!'_ but she did no such thing on account of being too amazed to do so. She did however, manage a low appreciative whistle.

This started the chain reaction of the other women praising him for his ideas, well-wishes for his own love-life and of admittances to wishing that the men on their dates could have planned better like his would seem. Tsunade even had to call order again, for the cacophony was getting louder than manners would permit in such formal gatherings.

"I bet my student, Hyuuga Hinata, would be pleased." Kurenai's statement received quite a bit of attention from the women present and she preened at the attention. Naruto was an odd topic being that it was he who defeated Hyuuga Neji in the Chuunin Exam Finals and possibly brought out the more friendly demeanor that Branch House member was sorely due for.

"Hinata? Why would I date Hinata?" Naruto blinked. Though it went unnoticed by him, everyone went silent.

"Err... I meant, who are you doing this for?" The genjutsu mistress faltered and attempted to correct her assumption.

"Why, Sakura-chan, of course!" Naruto lit a broad grin.

This caused many of the people there to shake their heads in clear distaste to his choice. Then Tsunade stepped in, so they could finally tie up Naruto's love-life troubles and move on to their meeting.

"You actually have some good ideas, Naruto. I don't think I could actually help you since those sound ALOT better than the dates I had been on."

Tsunade's eyes briefly glanced to a certain cleric who flinched under the silent accusation.  
Then she escorted Naruto towards the exit.

"Well, we have to get down to business now. Off you go."

"Thanks everyone!" Naruto waved enthusiastically as he exited.

However, not even a second passed before the loud genin peeked in again with a somewhat embarassed look on his face. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot my question, Tsunade-obaachan!"

Tsunade's eye twitched, but she let his pet-name for her slide. "What is it, brat?"

"Err... Just because you hang out with a girl..." He asked hesitantly. "Doesn't make it a date, right?"

"Of course." Tsunade rolled her eyes, as did many other women.

"Just checking." He gave a deep sigh of relief.

Then the door shut and the echoes Naruto's footsteps retreated until he was gone.

However, instead of Tsunade positioning herself back in her meeting chair, she moved over and stood in front of the woman -the one whom she'd granted to stand by the doorframe. That woman had alternated between watching the events and writing into her notepad. Currently, she was doing the latter, making her miss how she was currently in the centre of the Hokage's attention and thus everyone elses.

"So what brings you here," Her question was covered in frost. "Jiraiya?"

This had their audience collectively gasp. Some folded their arms over their chests but many more started readying a weapon.

"Oh, erm..." The girl faltered and wisely decided on reverting back into the aged white-haired perverted hermit.

"I'm just following the boy around." He quickly explained. "He's been providing great material to write about!"

Tsunade's eye twitched. She internally fought about whether to either question Jiraiya about some complaints or brain him through a wall. The wise Slug Sage came to an internal compromise. Her professional conduct would come first, _then_ she'd brain him through a wall. It's likely that the first will be the cause of the second anyway.

"I have many complaints regarding you, Jiraiya." Tsunade said smoothly. "All come from the bath-houses. Except one." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "It came from a bookstore, just yesterday. They refused to give a reason."

"The book-signing!" Jiraiya slapped his forehead in realisation. "I forgot all about that!"

"Book-signing?-!" Everyone exclaimed at the same time. _That_ caught even the Hokage by surprise.

"Ermm... Gotta go!" Jiraiya made quick work to follow his student's retreat.

---

Tsunade sighed as she seated herself, as did all the other female jounins present. Jiraiya had gotten away and now was the time for business...

"I can't believe he's doing it for Sakura..."

...then one Kurenai Yuuhi of Team 8 had to bring up Naruto.

"Why's that?" Shizune asked and all the other women leaned in. This was especially good gossip concerning the apparent Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan! How could anyone not want to listen in?

"Hinata had been pining for him for atleast a year now!" Yuuhi had said as a matter-of-factly. "Probably longer."

"I don't know... I admit they're rather cute looking together, but I honestly think Yamanaka Ino would do him good." Said the Academy Female Ninja trainer, Suzume.

"And why would you say that?" Yuuhi folded her arms.

"Ino is the very essence of femininity! As a high graduate in the kunoichi teachings, she has perfect balance between being a ninja and being a woman." Suzume nodded as she stated her piece. "Besides Hinata would be too quiet. The Uzumaki's too restless and the girl he needs should be a girl that could keep up with him." She punctuated her sentence by pushing the bridge of her glasses, further along her nose.

"By that logic," Uzuki Yuugao, Anbu of several years interrupted. "Tenten would make the better partner then."

Everyone got a confused look on their face as they tried to match the name with a face, causing Yuugao to sigh loudly.

"Brunette with hair-buns. Pink shirt and black pants. Weapons-specialist." She listed of Tenten's more memorable attributes but in seeing no one matching a face yet, she grit her teeth and used a description she was forced to bring up. "Got to the Chuunin Preliminaries but was defeated by Temari of the Sand."

"Aaaaah..." Everyone collectively murmured as the realisation dawned.

"Like I was saying, Tenten would be best then. She is just as full of energy as he is, when it comes to determination and she takes her duties as a kunoichi very seriously." Yuugao concluded.

Then there was a general murmur between all the women present, each supplementing a female similar to Naruto's age bracket and how they would look cute together for some trivial reason or another.

"But aren't you all forgetting about the girl he set his heart on?" Tsunade said out loud and it got everyone's attention. "Not only is Haruno Sakura demure, but she can also be spirited too. I think she would compliment him immensely if he ever wins her over. And she keeps him in line!"

"When he grows up, he'll realise it's not good to be stuck in an abusive relationship." Kurenai sniffed in disdain at having her student dismissed so quickly.

"As opposed to one-sided communication?-!" The female of the 3 Legendary Ninjas snorted. "The only way they'll get together, is if Hinata decides to be upfront or if Naruto gets a clue!"

"The likelihood of both is a particularly low possibility." Suzume supplemented.

The Genjutsu specialist bristled and before she could get another word in, Tsunade continued in her tirade.

"Besides, she doesn't really hit him. Those are just love-taps."

Shizune was immediately reminded of something by the blush on her cheeks and the raven-haired young woman started stammering her own contribution. "B-but Tsunade-sama!" Her voice shook. "W-what about Jiraiya-sama?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed at her assistant.

"What about him?" She stated neutrally, though her eyes promised anything but.

Shizune gulped and averted her eyes, a squeaked 'nothing' to mark her jumping off the topic. Everyone caught on to the implication, but luckily for Shizune, it was Kurenai that decided to press it and thus a target had been shifted.

"Yeeeeahhhhh..." The Illusion specialist drawled out. "What about you and him?"

"There isn't a _'me and him'_." Tsunade folded her arms defensively. "He's a senile, old pervert."

Seeing that Tsunade was very red in the face, Kurenai didn't want to push her luck (as not to end up being pushed through a wall) and had fallen silent. Though the implication did hang in the air for all to see.

Then, when one person noticed that Anko remained quiet through the whole preceding, like a whirlpool, it started pulling everyone in as to hear what her piece would be. Her silence in itself was worrisome.

"What about you, Mitarashi-san?" Shizune asked. "Who do you think would be good for him?"

On hearing her name, Anko focused and she turned to face the expectant crowd.

"Oh, there's one person I've got in mind..." She started and everyone paid close attention. "She speaks her mind, sensible, mature, a sculpted body to die for with matching brains and just about exotic." She grinned a shark's grin.

"You don't mean Temari of the Sand, do you?" Yuugao dead-panned.

"HELL NO!" Anko spun in her chair, arms spread dramatically. "I mean me!"

The 'Naruto-ish' jounin cackled at the ensuing sweatdrops but it had been infectious and soon everyone was joining in.

---

Naruto had just left the tower and wasn't heading in any particular direction. With his mind now at ease that the day before wasn't what he thought it was, the orange-clad genin was now off in search for his pink-haired teammate so that he could possibly convince her to go on a date with him.

"Hey Naruto!"

The boy turned in the direction of the shout and found that it was Ino calling him from the door of her family's flower shop. Always one to put his friends first, he gave a wave and ran over.

"Hey Ino!" Naruto greeted. "What's up?"

"Nothing I guess." The blond female replied.

It was just her luck, really. She was currently tied down to the shop and she was sure Tenten was on a mission today. She was expecting Hinata to be all over him, but the timid-girl apparently wasn't in sight! Truthfully, Ino didn't really understand why she wanted to find the blond-haired boy, but that last discussion with Hinata had opened her eyes more to what type of guy Naruto was capable of being. Suddenly, it wasn't about owing him for a bowl of ramen anymore. Or rather, if she didn't think it'd work out, she'd pay him back by paying for the date -it works out either way!

"Just watching the stall today." She indicated towards the flowers.

"Ah." Naruto grinned and tucked his hands behind his head. "So..." The whiskered ninja began, his next question proving how much he fails at small talk. "Have you seen Sakura-chan?"

The Yamanaka winced. "Forehead-girl? Nope, I haven't seen her." She shrugged.

It was during the shrug, that a brief sparkle caught Naruto's eye. "Hey hey! You going somewhere later?"

And indeed, Ino was dressed in a similar outfit that she always wore, only her current suit was made of a more expensive material. Then there was also the leather boots and the pair of golden earrings that dangled and glistened in the sunlight.

"I'm glad you noticed!" A hand went back to brush a bang away from covering an eye and she briefly paused to cutely pose in her own manner of subtle flirting. Then she went about taking full advantage of the change of direction in conversation. "I'm hoping to go out with someone tonight. Wanna take a guess on who it is?"

The Uzumaki boy narrowed his eyes, his grin catching on. "Someone I know, right?"

"You could say that." She nodded slyly believing full well that the boy was thinking the same thing.

Naruto made his first guess. "Shikamaru?"

His first guess had Ino's face turn blank but was quick to dismiss it. "That bum? No, thanks!"

"Chouji then?" Naruto continued.

"Nope, not the bum's accomplice either!" Ino dismissed the second guess too, now perhaps thinking that the whiskered boy was playing her game as well.

The blond male thought long and hard, thinking a long list of guys but easily ticking them off as people who Ino likely did not know. He hadn't include (the correct answer) his name to that list.

"Nope, I got no idea!" He grinned, whilst shrugging. "Lemme know who the lucky guy is already!"

Ino had to beam at darting in for the kill!

"Actually, the lucky guy is y-"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing Ino for a loop.

"Sakura-chan?" Her brows creased with confusion. "No, I'm not going out with forehead-girl." Not that she ever thought of ever wanting to do such a thing.

Naruto half-grinned at the thought. "I meant I saw Sakura-chan!" He explained his noticing of the flash of pink-hair from the corner of his eyes.

And just like that, Ino's luck was fleeting.

"Sorry Ino!" Naruto apologised, whilst he ran off in the direction that he saw Sakura in. "I have to get going! Lemme know how it went, okay?"

"I can't let you know how it went if you're not the-" Ino attempted to call out after him, but he was already too far. "-DAMN!" She cursed and stamped a foot. After she pulled herself together, she was just about to head out in the direction he went when...

"Ino! You're watching the shop tonight!" A male voice called out. "Me and your mother are going out!"

Yamanaka Ino could have screamed.

---

Naruto jogged up to Haruno Sakura's side and matched her pace. When she looked over, he held up one hand in a wave and grinned.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" He greeted instead of shouting at the top of his lungs, though with still as much enthusiasm as every time he greeted this particular female.

"Hey Naruto!" She returned the greeting without as much enthusiasm as he gave.

"So..." He grinned and placed his hands in his pockets as smoothly as he consciously could. "You wanna go out and get that anmitsu stuff today?"

His genin partner smiled wanly and looked away. Unknown to him, Sakura had a revelation last night. She saw clearly that, for the past week, Naruto was getting close to her... Too close to her. Sasuke was starting to look questionable in her eyes and Naruto less so, and the thought of her growing confusion scared her. Not wanting to have such doubt on her hands, she made a decision.

"Sorry Naruto..." She replied, unable to stop a little sadness creep into her voice. "But I'm interested in Sasuke." She met his eyes to punctuate her decision. "You know that."

"Well, it's just jelly-stuff," he shrugged, "it's not a like a date or not-mph!-?" In the blink of an eye, her hand covered his mouth and halted him from speaking further.

"It would be." She momentarily averted her gaze but was quick to return to focus. "Don't do this anymore, okay?" She asked. Something flashed in her eyes when she said so, but she continued to lay it all down. "I like Sasuke. Please don't do anymore of this. No more poems. No more sparring with dates as bets. No more pickled plums. No more chasing me around."

"Mmmph!" He tried to protest, but she didn't remove her hand.

"No more. Okay?" She asked again.

There was another flash of something in her eyes...  
Almost as if she was having an internal debate...

Naruto lowered his eyes and looked away. He saw everything crystal clear. She was asking him to promise her to leave her alone.

"I got a present for you..." He said once she removed her hand.

She opened her mouth to reject it, but he was quick to interrupt her.

"Just this last one... I saw it yesterday and it made me think of you..." His eyes met hers and she could see the seriousness behind the expression.

"Then I'll promise you."

She hesitantly nodded her acceptance of his terms. However, when Naruto reached into his pocket... His eyebrows rose in confusion and panic.

"I'll be right back!" He exclaimed and ran off in the direction for home. "You wait right there!"

Sakura watched him go. When he was out of sight, she started for home, unwilling to wait for her love-struck teammate and just letting the possibility of what they could have stop in its tracks then and there.

---

Tenten had been unlucky so far. Today, her team had been given yet another menial D-Rank mission. It was rather long and she'd just been dismissed, and was just heading back home after a long and tiring day when she'd spotted Naruto.

Maybe her luck was about to change...?

She'd honestly had a good time with him when they sparred, him treating her seriously and all, and she didn't think he was a bad guy. Of course, her curiousity grew when she'd met Hinata and Ino who were hounding him for reasons they wouldn't delve into. Maybe he had more attractive qualities after all...

And with that in mind, Tenten seized the opportunity.

"Hi Naruto!"

Naruto turned around and grinned, though it froze as he flipped through his memory to match a name to the face who just greeted him.

"Heya Weapon-girl..." He nearly fumbled in reaching for her name, but caught it in time. "...Tenten!"

"Heh, glad you remember my name." She chirped excitedly. "Not many people seem to be able to remember me for some reason..." And that was a true statement. Gai was a main offender in that sense. On some days, he still snuck glances at his hand, where he wrote all his genin's names down. She knew he only looked there to recall her name.

Naruto smiled apologetically and a hand went to the back of his head.

"Aheheh... How could I forget that great match we had?" The statement was partially true. The match was unforgettable, but unfortunately her name to her face didn't come to mind just as easily.

"Yeah, it was a great match..." She agreed.

The silence stretched as both teens awkwardly looked to the ground, unable to find a common topic to talk about. It was a moment or two in this, that Tenten decided on striving to go forward with a proposition to get to know him better...

"So..." Her eyes trailed along her shoes. "Where were you yesterday?"

...the idea fell flat on its face and she beat around the bush instead.

"I was out shopping for the whole day yesterday." His eyes wandered in thought, briefly recalling that shifty old bastard.

Tenten's eye twitched. No wonder they never found him yesterday! They were looking in all the places they EXPECTED him to be! Geeze, they should've gone to the last place they'd normally look for him!

"Why are you asking?" Naruto asked obliviously.

"No particular reason..." Tenten defended herself too quickly, to which Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How about today? Are you going to be busy today?" She asked a little too quickly as well.

"Me?" Naruto pointed to himself. "I dunno. I might." He shrugged. "You wanna train again sometime, huh?" He grinned at her.

"I'd like that!" Tenten would've accepted even faster if she could. "But uh... I'm kind of going out today." She amended back to her earlier plan.

"Yeah? You too?" Naruto's expressed his surprise distinctly.

"What do you mean? Are you going out too?" Tenten also expressed her surprise; though her stomach did loops in this area.

"Nah, I saw Hinata and Ino. Looks like they dressed for dates!" He exclaimed.

"R-really? Heheh, dates... You don't say..." Tenten choked in surprise, suddenly more than self aware about her current frazzled state of dress.

"Yeah! I wished them all the best, but I've been in a hurry all day!" Naruto shrugged and laughed. "Hope it works out for them!"

"Errr... Yeah, best of luck to them..." The hair-bunned girl forced a laugh. She deduced that those two were in the middle of possibly asking Naruto out, meaning that this was probably her only opportunity to take claim, bath or no bath.

"ANYWAY, I'm going out, you want to-"

"Can this wait, Tenten?" Naruto interrupted. "I still got stuff to do."

Before Tenten could voice her thoughts, the whiskered genin was already down the street.

"I'll spar with you later!" He waved and to which she could only helplessly wave back.

"Smooth, Tenten. Real smooth." She sarcastically congratulated herself. She would have chased after him, but she took this meeting as an omen to get cleaned up and dressed. Evening was nearly upon her and she'd wanted to make a better impression for a better chance at him, so she'd have to hurry if she wanted to have time to shop for an outfit for tomorrow.

---

It was long after Naruto reached his meager home unmolested that he'd located his present to Sakura. A brief lapse of memory had him consider whether he should wrap it or not, but ultimately remembered in time not to.

"Wrapping paper's not gonna get the best of me this time..." Naruto laughed as he pocketed the gift carefully.

Making his way outside, he went on his way to search out Sakura again, when someone else found him...

"Heya Naruto!"

Naruto stopped in mid-run and turned to the source of the greeting. Boy, he was getting stopped often today!

"Oh, hi Temari!" He greeted the older sand sibling as she casually strolled down his direction.

"I had a great time yesterday!" The multiple pony-tailed female gave him a bright smile. "I'm thankful that you went out of your way to show me around!"

"No worries! I had a good time too!" Naruto laughed, safely blanketed in the knowledge that it wasn't a date.

"Want to catch up again later?" She asked excitedly.

"Well, I can't really right now. I got to find someone." Naruto excused himself.

"That's too bad." The disappointment showed clearly on her face. "I'll only be around for a few more days..."

Not one to like a sad look on another person's face, Naruto then exclaimed without thinking. "Let's catch up sometime before you leave then!"

"It's a date!" The fan-using genin agreed, bid him farewell whilst she started in the opposite direction.

Naruto waved and turned around...

...only to freeze in midstep.

"It's a date...?" He muttered disbelievingly and did a 180 to ask Temari about that.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe she didn't mean it like that..." Naruto mumbled doubtfully, his safety net now feeling not so secure.

All the same, he went out on his search for that cotton-candy-haired girl. It was possibly going to be the last time he'd get to chase her ever again...

---

Evening had dropped and Naruto was out on the town. He'd returned to where he last left her and wasn't surprised that his female teammate hadn't waited for his return, thus he opted for another search for her. His second search for Sakura was failing and the last few moments of daylight was fading away. Not one to put things off for another day, he kept looking for his teammate, not once considering giving up.

However, a loud and boisterous ruckus was quick to catch his attention. There was laughing and shouting and the demon's vessel was quick to recognise the bearer of one of the voices and had head in their direction.

Little trivialities like say, _'You must be this tall to ride'_, _'Keep Off Grass'_ or _'Women's Changing Rooms'_ had never stopped Naruto before, much less being of legal age to gain entrance into the premises of a bar. For Naruto, a fog of smoke was more of a deterrent than the actual debauchery taking place within the walls. It had taken some careful maneuvering (and heavy abuse of his stamina and preferred ninja techniques) that got him to the table of...

"Tsunade-obaachan!"

And indeed it was.

---

Several minutes' after Jiraiya's departure, Tsunade's gathering of kunoichi's had quickly devolved to banter concerning Naruto's love-life and general exchange of gossip to feed the rumor mill. Without anyone even remotely trying to make a conscious effort at working, Tsunade dismissed everyone for the day, considering that she'd luckily made the effort to schedule this meeting to more than a single day.

Now when Tsunade made proclamations that she was going for a drink, invitations were quick to be handed around the table. In the end, most women from the gathering had joined in and the decision to hire out an entire place to themselves was spontaneously and immediately thrown in. A few hours passed, the larger numbers dwindled and several drinks later, the topics concerning love-lives rose again... Or rather, everyone's lack of it.

Then in walks Mr. Uzumaki.

---

"You shouldn't be drinking, Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto admonished the older woman. "You're making a very bad impression since you're supposed to be the leader of the village!"

Oh yes, the loud-mouthed ninja wasn't above telling off the village's figurehead. Any chance he got in pushing the Hokage's buttons, he'd take it in a heartbeat!

"Hey!" Tsunade growled. "I am in a discussion with my electorate board, thank you very much. We are merely in a more social setting to take up such matters!"

Her speech would probably have been more impressive if she wasn't leaning backwards and forwards so much... Or sloshing the sake in her cup... Or spilling it in her ample cleavage... You get the idea.

The banter exchanged for a while longer and the village representative was soon reduced to arguing at the level of a 12 year old -which, though not Naruto's age, was his first type of banter to always resort to. Everyone watched the duo going backwards and forwards as each accused, retorted and counter-retorted about frivolous and utterly ridiculous claims.

Eventually, one Mitarashi Anko had enough of the less-than-intelligent debate. More than a little red in the face, she stood up and walked over to the young male with her own agenda driven by a haze of alcohol. The blond boy had ceased arguing once he realised he wasn't looking into the hag's visage by way of someone yanking hard on his chin to face them.

"Pucker up!"

That was all warning he was given before their lips locked. Naruto immediately tried to voice his distaste, but it worked in Anko's favour as she snaked her tongue into his mouth. He tried to force her tongue back into her own mouth, but failed miserably as it just deepened the kiss. In a last ditch desperate attempt to pry Anko off of him, one of the whiskered genin's hands went to the jounin's shoulder and the other went and got a grip on Anko's hair. The former appendage went to push her away, while the latter tried pulling on her hair. For a reason beyond anyone, except the once-snake-apprentice herself, the jounin moaned into it and her hands became a little rougher on holding onto Naruto's flailing form.

Only when the younger ninja had gone blue in the face and was fast losing consciousness, that he'd started to relax and slide in her grip, had Anko finally broke it off. He gasped for breath and sputtered indignantly, whilst the other women laughed it up.

"He's a pretty good kisser! I'd give him atleast an eight on my scale!" Anko gasped between breaths, as she lewdly addressed her audience. "Maybe even a nine!"

"Have you been practising, Naruto-kun?" Tsunade poked Naruto cheekishly.

The only other kiss, the boy could remember, happened a long time ago with...

"Feh! I'm outta here! I gotta find Sakura-chan!" He turned into a bright red hue at the unwanted memory and promptly made his exit, the women shinobi tracing his movement out the door. It was a long quiet moment of everyone staring at the exit the young man made before someone went to comment.

"He's going to be a formidable opponent someday." Yuugao said, instantly starting a chain-reaction of comments.

"And a good father." Suzume leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling.

"And a stud." Kurenai toyed with the miniature umbrella in her drink.

"And a hero." Shizune sighed with a small knowing smile.

"And Hokage." Tsunade mumbled into her sake.

"And a heartbreaker!" Anko swooned as she'd fallen back into her seat.

There was another round of drinks as the laughter escalated.

They all raised their glasses for possibly the only worthy bachelor in his time. Each wishing there had been one of him in theirs. The drink went down, more drinks came to replace the old and everything quieted down... Atleast until Anko decided on breaking in on the silence.

"You know..." Anko started, whilst focusing on her empty sake bottle a little too oddly.

"What's that?" Kurenai prodded the other jounin to continue.

"He's going to be old enough for marriage soon..." One of Anko's fingers continuously trailed up and down the neck of the bottle.

The statement was left hanging as each woman let the thought hover and promptly took a drink.

Everyone was blushing...

But not thanks to the alcohol.

---

Sakura was desperately leaning on the rails of the bridge her team regularly meets at. Her face had been stained with tears and her form shook as she sobbed quietly. Truthfully, she'd have rather gone to Ino's, as this place wasn't even on her list of places to go to at this point.

But before she knew it, she was already here.

She had come on instinct alone.

The reason for her being here, was because just prior, she was at home, speaking with her mother. The conversation had been friendly at first, but the mood had officially been set when the Haruno matriarch had scolded Sakura for pursuing the Uchiha survivor -voicing that her daughter should now know better than to chase after a pointless dream, considering that the boy hadn't returned her affections after so many years.   
At this, Sakura rolled her eyes and joked whether Naruto would have been a more appropriate choice, since he was a nice boy and had been rather taken with her since the academy.  
Her mother appeared mortified and offended at such a thought, and suddenly turned to defaming and demonising Sakura's blond teammate with extreme prejudice -eventually concluding that the boy was a far worse choice and worth less than trash.  
Sakura was shocked by her mother's tirade. Naruto was nothing like her mother described him to be! He had helped her time and time again, both on and off missions! Sure, Sakura conceded that the boy could be rather annoying, but he surely didn't deserve to have been villainised like the way he was!   
Though improbable to her, Sakura found herself defending her blond teammate -from her own mother no less! The argument quickly escalated to shouting. Things were said. Sakura ran out crying.

And thus she found herself at the bridge.

It also happened to be the same place where Naruto found her.

---

On pure fluke alone, Naruto had finally located Sakura at his team's regular meeting spot. At first he was going to approach with his usual loud and boisterous greeting that he usually reserved for her, but was quick to determine that something was wrong.

He approached silently, stopping only when he was a few feet away.

"Sakura-chan?" He whispered, tilting his head in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her face.

She briefly looked up -just long enough for Naruto to catch the reflection of her tears in the moonlight, before she sharply swiveled away. She didn't want him seeing her like this.

"Please... Just go away, Naruto..." Sakura choked, trying to hold back the sobs. "I don't want to see you right now."

Usually one to fold under a request from Sakura -more so from a crying female- this was one instance that Naruto did not do so. Instead, he chose to move closer and stood by her side, staring out over the water. He winced when Sakura started to cry harder.

And so, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a handkerchief, offering it out for Sakura to take.  
She reluctantly did so.

She dabbed at her eyes, wiping until her face was devoid of the tears, though it still took her effort to hold back more from escaping. When she was satisfied enough, she held it back for Naruto to take, but he made no motion to do so.

"I saw that in a shop yesterday." He started softly, eyes on the water flowing under the bridge. "It reminded me of you..."

Sakura blinked and took the chance to slowly open the hanky. Under closer scrutiny, it was a pure white expensive-looking cloth. And amongst the damp areas, was a stunningly crafted embroidery of a simple black tree with elegant individual pink blossoms... A cherry blossom tree, much like her name-sake. However, she was a little confused by the blob of black and orange at the base... Atleast until Sakura squinted and saw through her tears, she easily made out the image of a sleeping fox, curled up with half of its face obscured by its own tail. She smiled at the odd abstract connection between both figures captured in the hanky, in comparison to themselves -she being the steady and beautiful tree and he being the mischievous and attention-attracting animal. However, the current moment held even more of a reflection, as both gathered silently and serenely for this single moment.

Sakura glanced back over to Naruto, who grinned awkwardly and started rubbing the back of his head.

"I wanted to give it to you earlier but I guess I had lots to do, so I guess I forgot." He admitted.

She smiled at that, allowing a single tear to take flight. This time, she took her time to dab at it, instead of rushing to banish it harshly away. That tear didn't represent the feeling of sadness. Neither did the ones that followed it.

And they stood there, side by side, staring out over the calm water, under the soft aura of the moonlight. Then Sakura slowly, but hesitantly lowered her head until it rested on Naruto's shoulder -much to both of their surprise. Her supple pink locks swept around Naruto's shoulder and the ends tickled at his bare neck. Her scent reminded him of strawberries and sunshine and happier things. It caused him to smile.

"I think I would like to get to know you better..." Sakura whispered, unable to trust her full voice just yet. "I think it's time we go on that date I owe you, since I can't promise that I won't change my mind about it soon..."

She paused to take a deep breath and a big chance.

"How's tomorrow for you?"

Naruto let his own head rest on hers, cushioned by her soft flowing hair.

"I think I'd like that, Sakura-chan."

And time would hold still as the rest of the world broke away, the stars winked from above, the moon bathed everything in a soft glow and all of silence reigned with the exception of their beating hearts and their content smiles.

It was a perfect moment.

---

Jiraiya smiled and slipped away unnoticed.

"Well, that's that then."

He jumped past another tree and retrieved a leather-bound manuscript.

* * *

_Single Ninja on the Town -_ **Amendments**  
_ Amended Chapter Five ..._ **Dating**

* * *

Then, for once, Jiraiya blinked and looked over the titles with a blank expression. 

"Oh right!" The open-pervert slapped his forehead. "I don't have to change anything! I had everything covered! Hahahah!"

"Oh well..." He conceded, returning the manual back into his robes and replacing it with a familiar notepad.

"Anyway, you're gonna be alright kid." He mumbled to himself, pencil tapping his chin. "You're gonna be alright..."

Then he started scribbling furiously in his notepad.

"Too bad my ending's not so tame!" He grinned lecherously.

---

**End of Chapter 5 ... Dating**  
_Finale Up!_  
**Final Word ii  
**_Epilogue_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**  
I considered putting in Inuzuka Hana, but I decided against it. I wasn't entirely sure whether she was jounin or not. _-Updated:_ my thanks goes to Clark Cradic for confirming that she is a chuunin!  
Anyway, one more chapter left... Who's betting on the proverbial feces hitting the proverbial fan? XD _Uploaded: December 28th, 2005.  
First Revision: February 7th, 2006.  
Second Revision: August 14th, 2006.  
Third Revision: January 12th, 2007._


	7. Final Word: ii

Uzumaki Naruto turned to the next chapter, boggled and then skipped as many pages as he could (actually, he'd forgotten this chapter's existence!).

And skipped pages...  
And skipped even more pages...  
And even more pages still...  
As it turns out that specific chapter was actually quite a bit larger than the previous ones -possibly because it contained its own mini-sections comprised mostly of techniques and detailed hand-drawn images (which really was to be expected, when considering who wrote it).

Then Naruto finally arrived at a segment that didn't involve events after dates.

* * *

**Final Word ... ii**

_If you're reading this, then it's likely that I must congratulate you, the formerly-Single Ninja on your success! You've learned from the three unsaid laws and I, Jiraiya, successful author of love, will wish you all the best in your love-life!_

_However, there's still that chance that you've followed the guide to the letter, but have not reached her. Do not fret! She is likely not the one for you! Keep in mind, that there will be a kunoichi out there for you! You just have to keep searching!_

_And so, whether you have been successful or not, remember this:_

_Live to Learn. Learn to Love. Love to Live._

_Hold close to these three ideals, for this does not only apply to male shinobi, but also kunoichi. All ninja have the same wants, hopes, realities and dreams and will need these three rules to catch a kunoichi to never let go._

Jiraiya

* * *

And that's all the Final Word had to say. 

Naruto closed the book and a little smile crept onto his face as he turned the faucet on. It was at this point, that the whiskered boy took notice of the young man infront of him. White socks and sneakers, unmarred blue jeans and an untucked, orange buttoned-up summer-shirt. Naruto had to admit that the bloke looked pretty cool -especially when his soaked hands gave his defiant hair a vague comb backwards.

So when Naruto put his headband into his shirt pocket, he grinned at the male infront of him and his reflection afforded him the same luxury.

Today, he and Sakura will be out on the town!

* * *

DISCLAIMER: In Soviet Russia, you own Naruto. Over here, Naruto owns you. 

**Single Ninja on the Town **  
By Arkhe   
** Final Word ii**

* * *

The orange-and-blue ninja-turned-civilian had just turned the corner to meet with his date, hoping that his current image would surprise her. Instead the tables had turned at the sight that unfolded before him. 

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto's jaw nearly unhinged. For that gaping male, things appeared to him in slow-motion and for a brief moment, something as simple as a girl he liked waiting for him at a street corner had become his world.

Chestnut brown sandals turned in step, as did a lime green dress twirl and waver with the graceful twist of her movement. Her soft, rosy-pink hair positively flowed with the playful touch of a summer breeze. Her emerald irises caught the light just right, twinkling like stars when they met his sky blue.

Haruno Sakura was dressed in a simple sundress, to which Naruto agreed that it complemented her greatly.

"...you're beautiful."

"Thank you, Naruto." Her cheeks tinged pink at his flattering musing, but the young woman was quick to return some praise herself. "You don't look bad yourself." The statement held true as her eyes lingered a little longer than it should have.

The blond bashfully scratched the back of his head and gave a shy 'thanks' before calming himself enough to take charge. Shifting into a friendly smile, Naruto held out an open hand for his partner to take.

"You ready?" He beamed.

"You bet!" And Sakura willingly grasped his extended palm, allowing their fingers to comfortably entwine.

From one stand-point, this could be start of the rest of his life... 

---

At the exact same moment elsewhere, a young woman daintily strolled down a street and the people she passed briefly paused to admire her.

Adding to the effect of the pale suppleness of her skin, her pearl eyes and her rich, violet hair, Hyuuga Hinata wore a traditional Fire Country-style kimono. The formal article of clothing was snow-white with pain-stakingly hand-embroidered golden stitching that faintly danced in intricate patterns. The bamboo umbrella also followed the style of the kimono; what with being an unblemished white with golden patterns of its own. To top it off, she wore a serene smile on her proud countenance; giving off a regal air and an aura of tranquility.

The Hyuuga heiress' breeding was obvious when she gave polite bows to everyone she met on her self-appointed path.

The reason for her going out in full-battle dress today was due to last evening, when the Main House member poured over her family's scrolls. She was doing so in an effort to search for a clause to allow her marriage outside the clan. Needless to say, her search proved fruitful. With her newfound knowledge in mind, the timid Hyuuga heiress had a new lease on her future.

Should her beloved chosen not prove to be the person she searched for, she still has plenty of chances of finding that special person. However, the person in mind was her only current choice and she wanted to search out the feelings between them and see where it could go.

And so, with the thought of a bright future casting out her doubts, the breath-taking, pale-eyed young woman broke into the day; going so far as to dress formally, so as to capture his attention and then have him accept her proposition to an immediate date.

Hyuuga Hinata stepped out, activated her blood limit and went off in search for a certain whiskered-boy. 

---

Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and the latter's animal counter-part, Akamaru, had been taking a brisk walk by many of the stores and stalls that littered the food and beverage district they were passing through. It was on this rare occasion, that not one, but both human male teammates of Team 8 were sharing an honest conversation -as opposed to Kiba's usual one-sided boasting.

"I'm telling you, Optimus Primal would kick Prime's ass!"

"No. He wouldn't."

"Oh yes, he would!"

Though it wasn't an entirely intelligent conversation, it was a conversation nonetheless.

"If Primal could transform into a dog, he'd definitely be unbeatable, but a monkey is still-gwahuh?-!"

Both boys (and one canine) could only stop and blink, as the difficulty at comprehending what was happening had them freeze in their tracks and halt all thought.

"Hello Kiba-kun. Hello Shino-kun. Hello Akamaru-kun." When reaching appropriate speaking distance, Hinata bowed to each teammate she'd addressed and politely turned off her bloodlimit in pausing to briefly converse with them.

Her teammates returned the respectful bow with their own in staggering awe. It should be pointed out now, that one person (unsurprisingly) lost his voice, another fell over himself with trying to speak and someone had his tongue hanging out (that last one was surprisingly not Akamaru!). Each had only entertained the notion that their female teammate could be as awe-inspiring as she was currently so, but never had they have ever expected such a day to come so soon, nor were they really expecting to bear witness to it.

Seeing as her teammates didn't appear to be in the mood for conversation, Hinata went on to excuse herself. "I apologise that I cannot stay much longer. I have a date with Naruto-kun and must be on my way." And sounding sincerely sorry as she did, Hinata bowed again and stepped between her teammates and onwards before they could even bid her a farewell (or atleast if they had access to their proper motor-functions that would allow them to have bade her a farewell).

Once she'd disappeared around a corner, Shino remembered to breathe and Kiba successfully returned his tongue back into his mouth. The latter shook his head to clear it, as he recalled Hinata's shining visage (as well as her more than pleasant looks) from memory.

"Whoa..." Kiba exhaled with a lopsided smile. "Hinata sure was something, huh?" 

"Hnn." Shino answered pragmatically.

"Hey! Don't act as if you're all joe-cool!" Kiba accused. "You're blushing as hard as I am!"

The Bug-using ninja frowned, pushed his glasses further along his nose and then tilted his head further back under his collar. The red hue along his cheeks was still evident.

"_'Whoa'_, right?" The Inuzuka elbowed his Aburame friend none-too-softly.

"Whoa." The Aburame scion stoically agreed after a moment.

**-Woof!-** Akamaru decided on voicing his piece with a wry smile (atleast for a dog).

"HOW DARE YOU AKAMARU!" Kiba immediately turned on his canine, a scandalised look etched on his face. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D SAY SUCH A THING! I'LL KILL YOU!"

While the Inuzuka quarreled with his canine bretheren, the Aburame desperately wanted to wipe away the fog from his glasses but ultimately decided against it; he'd reasoned that he would have to take off said opticals in the first place and valued not doing so.

"Wait a minute..." A sudden realisation hit Kiba with the force of a sledge hammer, easily disengaging his line of thought. "Hinata's going out with Naruto!-?"

---

Naruto licked his bottom lip anxiously, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. True, he was now on his date, but how was he supposed to act?

Supposedly chib... chiv... chibi... That word that means really nice, right? Atleast, that's the impression he got of it, considering he never did get around to finding out exactly what its definition was.   
The blond ninja grinned awkwardly and put a hand to the back of his neck.

"Sooo..." The Uzumaki drew out before inhaling sharply. "You got a place in mind or...?"

Sakura smiled knowingly at his antics and simply nodded. She didn't speed up her pace, but she'd given his hand a squeeze to which he returned thankfully. The male shinobi felt like he was walking on sunshine.

Things were finally going his way! 

---

A special flower girl had placed a measured foot out of her shop and confidently headed out. And with each progressive step she made in her tread, she turned heads. Someone poured hot coffee into someone elses lap, another had walked into a pole and the last was being forcefuly dragged away by his irate girlfriend.

A purple velvet, sleeveless turtle-neck miniskirt was a most glorious (and scandalous!) piece of clothing was what one Yamanaka Ino wore (for the lack of a better word). What with its choice cuts of having a very low back and a largely missing mid-riff, it had displayed a sheer amount of skin -and though it still left quite a bit to the imagination, the suggestive aspect had it bordering on the obscene. With amethyst earrings, light mascara, an overtly large belt that hung loosely from one side of her waist and knee-high, rubber boots had matched her ensemble to create a _look_.

And what a _look_.

Ino had chosen this wardrobe specifically for the shock factor (rather an understatement in her now-unconscious-father's opinion). She'd figured that either Naruto would accept on the drop of a kunai or _-an outcome she was betting on-_ he'd turn boneless at the sight of her and she'd have to drag him around -which were better options than an outright 'no' in her book.

Besides, with what she had planned; namely taking such a hyper-active date to the Hidden Leaf's night-life was a win-win date. There was no way it could go wrong!  
And in the likelihood that things don't work out, they could both mutually walk away! She'd have returned him his favour and all's good!

Yamanako Ino smiled spectacularly at the attention, as each step was punctuated with a swing of her hips in a sensual gait; oozing a tempting combination of charm and beauty. The only thing left to complete her nightly plans would be a certain party animal and she was on her way to pick him up now...

---

Akimichi Chouji was glumly sitting outside of a restaurant. The obvious discrepancy had been picked up by Kiba and Shino as their curiousity had them wander over to the (self-proclaimed) big-boned ninja, momentarily putting on hold their tracking of either Hyuuga-heiress or demon-vessel.

"Chouji? I half-expected you to be in this place..." Kiba said none too delicately.

"Me too..." Chouji admitted with a sigh.

"So, why're you out here then?" Kiba took a seat next to his big-boned chum, whilst Shino chose to remain standing. "And, you know, atleast not having a packet of chips in hand?"

"Well, Ino insisted I needed to lose weight..." The Akimichi began uncertainly and halted. The silence spoke volumes.

The dog-affiliated ninja and the insect-using ninja shared a knowing glance out of Chouji's view. In the span of 3 seconds, they had a mental argument spanning 5 minutes. Before Kiba could open his trap and insult the Akimichi boy, Shino interrupted. "Clans are respected communities and you are a part of one. You should be proud of your upbringing and their traditions."

"I suppose." Chouji acknowledged, his mood already brightening. "What would Ino know anyway? It's not like Naruto's in my clan."

The two males of Team 8 gave pause to blink, both wondering exactly how Naruto was brought up into this and not liking where this was potentially leading to.

"Hold up!" Kiba jumped up and grabbed the larger boy by his shoulders. "What's this about what Ino said?"

"Before she kicked me and Shikamaru out to get ready for tonight, she told me that if I lost some weight, I could be more appealing to the girls like Naruto is."

"'Like Naruto!-?'" Kiba and Shino exclaimed (though Shino lacked an exclamation mark in his declaration).

"Y-yes! I t-think s-she w-was g-going o-out o-on a d-date w-with h-him today." Chouji struggled to say.

"That bastard!" Kiba seethed through a red haze, as rage started to build up within him.

"C-can y-you p-please s-stop s-shaking m-me?" The currently present member of Team 10 managed to sputter in between being roughed up.

"Whoa... Sorry there, big guy." Kiba immediately let go of the Akimichi's shirt collar once he realised what he was doing.

"Why? What happened?" Chouji inquired, after the world stopped shaking.

Kiba started on his explanation of when he and Shino met Hinata earlier. Shino didn't bother correcting his teammate about the exaggerations, though he would agree that Hinata was as entrancing as an untouched field of fresh snow (a term not so elegantly expressed by the Inuzuka). Once explanations were over, Chouji frowned. Hard.

"He can't treat Ino like that!" The Akimichi boy shook with barely suppressed anger in defense to his long time teammate.

"And he can't treat Hinata like that either!" Kiba held up a shaking fist.

"He shouldn't treat anyone like that." Shino corrected them both.

"I say we should find Shikamaru. " Chouji pointed in a direction he knew his male teammate to be at. "He'll know what to do."

"C'mon then! Let's go!" Kiba took the lead and the other two boys followed suit.

---

Naruto's eyes washed over Sakura's choice of eatery. It wasn't a stand like he was used to, but an actual dine-in restaurant catering various traditional and rather elaborate food-stuff.

The blond off-the-job ninja gave a quick inspection of the establishment through the window. From what he noticed, he could feel his blood freezing over.

There were multiple casual-formal waiters and waitresses...  
A fold open menu in a leather frame...  
Solid utensils with a consistent theme...  
Oh god... Table cloth...

Naruto's hand instinctively reached to pat his poor defenseless frog-purse, already feeling the sting that would decimate a good portion of its contents. If he was a betting man, he'd bet this place charged for water too.

Patience was never quite the strawberry-haired kunoichi's strong suit and her partner's wide-eyed staring would be no exception. "Stop gawking and let's go in already!" She gave his hand a tug and dragged him in with her.

Though Naruto would undoubtedly enjoy the company, he still couldn't help but feel there might be something to regret later.

---

A young woman stepped out in a slow but purposeful gait. The people she passed had bid her courteous salutations, as she walked the walk of one with professional elegance.

The walk was for good reason really, considering Tenten was currently dressed in a formal -with a touch of casual- suit! What with her tight, curve-hugging pants, a long-sleeved collared-shirt and a suede vest (with coat tails!) on top making for the formal portion. The weapon mistress had went on to add a pair of boots, twin gauntlets and a thigh holster presenting the more casual side. In an unrelated note, it was due to Tenten's frisky and venturous mood that nearly all she currently wore was in black leather.

People would remark that she appeared to have an air of casual-formality. Or that she had some sort of 'leather-thing' going on -though they didn't express that to her face.

Hearing about the other girls dressing up from Naruto yesterday, Tenten had decided on also a little dressing up to attract the attention of a certain blond shinobi. It had taken her countless of hours trying to find the right balance of casual and formality without sacrificing elegance and it had paid off!

Tenten suppressed a sigh and turned it into a resolved grin. She could practically feel her muscles straining and aching from the spar that would be sure to follow their lunch-date. 

---

Both Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji had been walking down the street. Or rather, Neji was striding down the street, Lee happened to spot him and was now unwantedly hanging on his easily irritable teammate.

"Ah! My dear comrade, Neji!" The bowl-cut boy declared eagerly. "I require the utmost assistance!"

"Not now, Lee. I'm busy." Neji concisely replied. He was a man on a mission and he wasn't about to stop now.

"Please! Your eyesight greatly surpasses mine!" The spandex-clad ninja openly wailed. "I require aid in finding one Uzumaki Naruto!"

"The Main House requested I search for Hinata right now." Was the statement that was stoicly returned.

"Ohhh..." Lee wilted on hearing that it was family business. He would stand down to more important causes. "That's too bad. It seems I must venture fourth and seek Uzumaki Naruto on my own -as per Tenten's personal request!"

"Yes, you go and seek Uzu--" The Hyuuga branch-house member froze, finally processing what he just heard. "Wait... What's this about Tenten's personal request?"

"Ooooooohhh! During your absence, Tenten had become enamored with our blond colleague! She had thrown accusation upon accusation until I finally agreed to be more like him!" The taijutsu-specialist declared with manly tears threatening to spill fourth.

"So now I seek, Uzumaki Naruto! So that I may learn his way to appease Tenten!" He concluded, posing dramatically.

"Enamored?" Neji could feel an eye twitching.

"YES!" Lee pulled Neji close until they were cheek-to-cheek and the Gai-imitator pointed to the horizon. "Apparently, Tenten seeks companionship with him and wishes I was more charismatic like him!" Lee held up a fist, the flames of determination burned in his... irises(?) as he suddenly made a connection. "YES! Now that Naruto is Tenten's consort, it leaves Sakura free for me to court!"

Neji's eyes narrowed and harshly pulled himself away from his over-enthusiastic teammate. He rationalised that likely Tenten wanted Lee to be less annoying like Naruto, and it was just like Lee to misinterprete that. However, now there were too many coincidences concerning the orange-clad idiot and it had the Hyuuga bring his hands to his forehead, kneading the growing headache that was threatening to take hold.

"My... 'absence' from our team's assemblies," The Hyuuga prodigy growled through gritted teeth, "was due to the Main House assigning me to watch over Hinata, as her current behaviour had her family worried. I have been following my cousin for the past week and she'd led me on a pointless goose-chase."

"But now I understand..." The serious member of Team Gai looked over to his enthusiastic teammate square in the... seeing orbs.

"I'd observed Hinata as chasing Naruto, as was a few of her other females acquaintances, including Tenten. I thought nothing of it at the time, but now..." The Branch-house member broke off solemnly.

This had Lee gasp in exaggerated surprise as he caught on to Neji's vague recount.

"That cad! To play with a girl's innocent heart! I must teach Naruto a lesson!" Lee swore.

"You guys looking for Naruto too...?" A question with an underlying growl was loudly directed at the duo.

Neji and Lee turned to find Kiba, Shino and Chouji standing nearby.

---

"They don't serve ramen...?" Naruto miserably mumbled. The world was a dark and lonely place.

"For the last time, Naruto, no, they don't!" Sakura held up a fist threateningly. "Stop asking or I'll hit you!"

"They don't ser--"

**-Bop!-**

"Owie!" The devastated blond was socked out of his recursive loop by the knock to his noggin.

Shrinking under his date's edgy glare, Naruto scoured over his choices for something else to eat.

"So... Uhhh..." A solitary bead of sweat made it's way down Naruto's bandana-less forehead. Not only were all the dishes more pricier than his ramen, but he didn't know what in the world half the stuff was!

Feeling himself glazing over, he turned to his female companion and asked, "What are you getting, Sakura-chan?" The question was really more for his benefit than not.

"Just something light." She leaned over to indicate her ordered dish on his menu.

The number-one surprising ninja of the Hidden Leaf was ironically taken by surprise himself.

"Tofu?" He whined not bothering to hide his disgust. "Why are you getting tofu?"

"Err..." Sakura briefly gave pause to consider what she would say. "I'm trying to watch what I'm eating..." The fact that it was the cheapest thing on the menu had a bigger influence than her excuse -not that she'd admit it.

"But it's tofu!" Naruto gagged, unable to grasp the subtleties. His knowledge of tofu extended mostly towards some slices being in his ramen -otherwise it wasn't something he could associate as being a sole meal. Thus he scrolled through the list and made his next decision on pure instinct (like he always does with most broad decisions).

In a sudden brust of bravado, the Uzumaki took charge. "Cancel her order." He ordered the waiter.

Sakura sputtered in indignant surprise, but Naruto spoke over her before she could voice her concerns. She could only gape as he (randomly) ordered their meal. There was green tea for drinks, an entree of a couple of skewered barbequed pork, followed by some Fire Country-style curry with rice and finishing it with Dango and Anmitsu jelly for desserts. All of it would be shared between them both.

"Now go! GO!" Naruto forcefully ushered the waiter to start on their orders, for the reason that should Sakura try to halt the preceedings, he would easily fold under her decision (although another reason was so he wouldn't have second thoughts into co-ercing his own sabotage to canceling his brash order as well).

"There's no way I could possibly afford all that!" Sakura suppressed a shout for a panicked whisper. "That's all far too expensive! Especially the curry! That's a Fire Country specialty!"

"We're on a date, Sakura-chan." Naruto waved her off calmly, though the butterflies in his stomach did loops and barrel rolls. "I'll cover it!"

"But..." She bit her bottom lip to rebuke but didn't get far.

"No 'buts'! Seriously! I'll take care of it! You just go ahead and enjoy yourself!" He deftly shrugged off her worries and raised her hopes with the same sentence.

"But there's no possible way I could help you finish all of that..." Was Sakura's weak excuse. She'd felt a touch of guilt at the thought of being a burden to her teammate, just because he'd finally gotten the date he'd been begging her for and now was trying to impress her by acting this way.

"Hah! If you can't finish it, I'll take care of that too!" Naruto grinned "Believe it!"

Sakura could only smile at the confidence he radiated.

The mild pit of worry in the whiskered ninja's stomach said otherwise.

---

One Temari of the Sand was seated at a table of a cafe, currently clad in one of her purchases from the days prior.

Simply put, she was wearing a simple summer red kimono -being one of her more expensive purchases during her stay (incidentally covered by Naruto a few days prior, though on a technical note, it was really covered by her brothers). However, unwilling to just wear the kimono on its own, Temari of the Sand also added in additional mixes of ninja-wear, so not only did she have a kimono draped on her frame, but also some fish-net clothing, consisting of a full-body mesh that only covered her entire left arm and down to the right leg. The other appendages covering cut off at the elbow and knee. Instead of taking her regular battle fan, Temari had instead brought one of her more smaller fans (at least in comparison to the battle counter-parts) -to which she was using to cover her face.

To put it simply, Temari was a mix of different extremes.

Simple archaic clothing with a hint of battle armour.  
Obvious youth with the mannerisms of a mature woman.  
Citizen of the Hidden Sand, currently staying in the Hidden Leaf.

The last was the most tale-telling, considering that she was naturally exotic and her choice of the region's clothing had made her all the more appealing to the general consensus.

Currently, Temari of the Sand was watching the scenery over the wide brim of her hand-held fan. Or to be specific, the departing of a certain person. Once he was out of sight, she slapped her fan on the table and it fluidly closed with a loud snap.

"Cheque please."

A few more days left before she and her brothers were to return and she'd wanted to spend this particular one with a certain blond and make it memorable. Now, all she had to do, was locate him.

---

The two brothers of the Sand; Gaara and Kankuro were standing at an intersection, both mutually not even considering heading in any direction. Kankuro was grimacing, and though Gaara's face was carefully neutral, he appeared as menacing, if not more so, than his older brother.

"I can't believe that asshole didn't show up." Kankuro growled for the umpteenth time that day.

Gaara didn't voice his displeasure, but he didn't have to be obvious about it. With Gaara, it was just so.

Both brothers were recently sudden fans of the Icha Icha series. They'd heard of the author having a book signing in the Hidden Leaf, so they thought it would have been a great idea to come down (though Temari did play a large role in getting them moving for her own personal reasons).

Of course, once they'd manage to distract Temari, their luck only turned sour; in that their favourite author had not made his promised appearance. Already disgusted with the taxing travel to the Leaf, the long and disappointed wait at the bookstore, the amount of money spent to distract their sister and certainly not looking forward to the travel back, it was completely understandable how irate both brothers of the sand were.

"Hey guys." Came a lazy drawl.

Nara Shikamaru wasn't having a good day. Or rather, wasn't having a good past week. Since several days ago, Ino really started getting on his nerves of _'Naruto this'_ and _'Naruto that'_. Even Chouji's normally polite and forgiving nature had taken a blow, when Ino had compared him to Naruto. This dragged on for days up until this morning, when Ino told them of her plans for a date. Disgruntled enough, Shikamaru had taken his business to his regular cloud-watching route, only to meet a certain Sand kunoichi on the way. Not only was he also berated by said kunoichi, but he was also compared to Naruto as well!

Thus when it was by complete chance that he happened on the other Sand Siblings, the Nara was quick to mind to play the hand that was dealt to him. Namely, he was going to wash his hands off the whole torrid affair and send trouble down Naruto's way!

On the receiving end of two glares, Shikamaru was quick to get to his thought-out opening line. "You guys do know that Naruto's dating your sister?" In one swiftly planned gesture, the genius chuunin had pulled himself out of the line of fire.

"HE'S WHAT!-?" Exclaimed Kankuro.

"What...?" Gaara's quiet voice struck far harder than Kankuro's, as it promised something... terrible.

"Yeah." The shadow-user affirmed with a nod, barely stopping the urge to swallow loudly at Gaara's leak of killing intent.

"What about you?" The puppet-user sneers suspiciously. "Weren't you seeing our sister?"

"I don't know." Shikamaru kept with his nonchalant act. "What I do know, is that I just ran into her and she was bragging about Naruto's prospects as boyfriend material."

"That bastard!" Kankuro seethed and the package on his back appeared to visibly shake. "We trust them together once and he turns on us!"

Gaara said nothing, though his eyes widened and his pupils dilated. The vessel of Shukaku was only missing his manic grin to complete his 'blood-lusting face'.

"Oi."

Gaara, Kankuro and Shikamaru turned to whomever addressed them and found it to be Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Lee and Neji.

"Got something to take up with Naruto?" Kiba smirked evilly.

"We have a lead on his whereabouts." Added Shino.

"Naruto's been seeing more than just Ino apparently." Chouji nodded with a fierce look to his best friend.

"We cannot have the defiler go around unpunished!" Lee nearly exploded into passionate flames.

"Are you coming or not?" Neji offered.

It was only then that Gaara grinned sinisterly and his 'killing face' ensemble was complete. Blood was going to spill today.

---

"How's the curry?" Sakura gave her date a knowing smirk, while she carefully gathered another helping to her plate.

"...It's a little hot." Naruto admitted, faltered past the napkin he held in front of his face.

"So it wasn't good idea to add curry powder on top of your the curry without tasting it?" Sakura only spoke after she took measured bites into her meal and savoured the flavour with an appreciating smile.

"...yeah. Feels like I'm gonna die." Naruto put the napkin down, allowing Sakura a clear view of his inflamed lips.

She giggled and he could only put half an effort into the glare he was giving her.

Naruto wiped the perspiration and downed another glass of water. He didn't feel like he was going to die, but he surely felt he was on his way there!

---

A certain person had arrived at Naruto's regular ramen stand. Finding nothing, the girl then decided that her best course of action, would be to use her bloodlimit to aid in locating the loud-mouth blond ninja.

"Hinata?"

The pearl-eyed Hyuuga heiress looked over to the person who called her and came face to face with Ino in a scantily-clad choice of clothing, easily contrasting her own. Luckily, Hinata fell back on manners instead of openly gawking in shocked social ethic wonder.

"G-good afternoon, I-Ino." Hinata bowed deeply to which Ino awkwardly returned.

"Well, we're pretty dolled up, aren't we?" The blond flower-girl tried to joke, though the awkward moment ascended further, as each deduced the intentions of the other.

"What's this...?-!"

This exclamation came from a very surprised weapon mistress. A third pair of eyes lined with the first two and appraising looks were exchanged between all three.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Atleast that was until a sultry voice, who hailed from a particular dessert region, had also arrived on the scene.

"So... Anyone care to explain where the party's at?" Temari quirked an eyebrow in mild curiousity.

---

"I don't believe this!" Kiba shouted distressingly. "What the hell does that prick think he's doing?-!"

A group of young shinobi males were taking their sweet time and all were seething in their own personal dislike for Naruto treating their teammates/possible love-interest/sister in such a fashion.

"What do they see in him anyway?-!" Kiba added as an after-thought.

Of course, this was more-so jealousy when the dog-boy brought about the subject.

"HooooOOOOO!-!" Lee finally had tears running down his cheeks. "To think that hard work and perseverance had finally have him noticed, only to discard manners with quick abandon!"

Neji would've rolled his eyes at Lee's over-the-top antics, but even he had to agree with that assessment.

"Though his qualities have finally earned him the attention he seeks, he has abused that privilege." Shino inputted.

"Damn straight!" Kankuro punctuated with a clenched fist. "That bastard deserves the beating of a lifetime for getting involved with our sister."

"Aren't you going to say how troublesome this is, Shikamaru?" Suggested Chouji to his lazier counter-part.

"No." Shikamaru had his hands in his pockets. "It will be more troublesome if we are to do nothing. Once the eventual fall-out occurs, the girls will turn on us, especially now that we know what we know." He was careful to stroke the fire so that he wouldn't have to do anything when the inevitable arrives, though everyone seemed to be doing a marvelous job of rallying each other themselves. "It is better to nip this in the bud than be drawn in a bigger mess later for simply being associated by proxy."

"YOSH! His passion of youth flares with tainted tension and must be halted!" Lee suddenly bellowed.

"Tch." A new voice piped up. "You guys are loud."

"This might interest you." Neji stated towards the newest arrival: Uchiha Sasuke.

The lone Uchiha had been enjoying his day. Things appeared to be getting better and better, as not only did little instances of luck occured his way -what with him perfecting that darn fire-technique that's been bugging him for a while, but he hadn't been harassed by a female member of the population all day! At first he'd been marginally surprised when his fellow ninja males found him and explained things to him, but he still readily agreed to join them.

Naruto was going to recieve a beating of a lifetime today...

Sasuke smirked and thrust his hands in his pockets.  
Today was officially the best day EVER.

---

Currently, a small congregation were making their way down some busy streets. Anyone in the immediate area had to stop and pause.

It wasn't everyday that had a crowd of kunoichi's, lead by the Fifth Hokage, parade down the main street of the Leaf.

The reason for this was that during the meeting earlier today, all kunoichi had voted not to conduct their business in the Administration building; as the atmosphere was unbecoming for serious debate. That and Naruto might be interrupting them again and that definitely was no place to get away from the boy. Oh, and just because the people who did escort the Hokage drinking yesterday thought they had a great time, didn't mean that it had influenced everyone's decision to conduct their meeting in the best Karaoke bar in town.

"Yeah! It's great to get out of that tower!" Mitarashi Anko stretched her arms over her head, jutting her chest forward. "I just hope I won't get too bored. Meeting's a meeting after all."

And with all things conspiratory, the group were making their way down their way to a very particular street at a very particular time...

---

Hatake Kakashi had been relaxing in a very comfortable chair in an outdoor cafe. Newspaper wide open in his lap, Kakashi double-tasked with reading and reaching for his latte. He had just brought the delectable drink to his mouth, when fabric stopped the glass from touching his lips, effectively preventing him from downing the liquid. This caused the one-eyed jounin to blink in surprise and look up to find a small crowd of male shinobi watching him with interest.

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL, KAKASHI!" Maito Gai hailed with open arms.

"I told you." Sarutobi Asuma jostled Umino Iruka. "No one knows how he does it. When no one's looking, it all happens normally. But when someone one is..."

"Wow..." Iruka mumbled to himself in awe, but brought his voice out louder to congratulate Kakashi. "That's an interesting technique you've got there!"

"Huh?" Was Kakashi's intelligent reply.

"He means you're impressive technique, where you can eat or drink things past your mask, whenever people aren't looking!" Gai gave the silver-haired jounin a thumbs up.

"What?" Kakashi reached for his face and his visible eye blinked in surprise. "Oh that's right... I'm wearing a mask."

He turned back to the dumbfounded expressions of the other jounins and shrugged casually at their gaping.

"I usually forget that I keep it on."

And the levels of confusion escalated from there.

"HoooOOOOOOO-OOO-OOOOO!" Gai howled in open envy. "You truly are hip and cool like that, Kakashi!"

Once everyone got their bearings, they joined Kakashi at his table and began ordering their own light meals and/or beverages as well.

"What's the news?" Kakashi asked politely.

"The jounin lounge was closed today!" Gai sputtered crumbs everywhere, as he spoke while trying to consume his man-wich in a (sad) attempt to multitask in a subtle contest with his self-proclaimed rival.

"Yeah, not too many places around that lets you smoke, you know?" Asuma lit up a cigarette to further emphasize his point. "You'd be surprised at how many places are taking up the no-smoking policy."

"I've got my day off today and I saw the guys." Iruka freely admitted. "Thought it'd be nice to catch up."

"And the rest of them?" Kakashi gave a curt indication to the other male shinobi of jounin and chuunin rank, who were seemingly appearing off the street.

Gekkou Hayate, Shiranui Genma, Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu all gave polite greetings before moving to a table on their own.

"No idea. Same reason as us, I'd think." Asuma shrugged it off without a care.

Kakashi flicked a passing glance at all the jounins seating out in the open before making his evaluation.

"It would seem that because of the appearance of ninja as customers, it attracts other shinobi because it appears as a friendly and safe haven for people with our kind of occupation to stop at." Kakashi observed with a nod of his head.

"A SOLID THEORY!" Gai shouted. "TRULY, YOUR OBSERVATIONAL SKILLS PROVES YOUR GENIUS INTELLECT, MAKING YOU WORTHY TO BE MY RIVAL!" Both Asuma and Iruka couldn't help but covertly snicker at the green spandex-clad jounin's antics at Kakashi's expense.

There was an enjoyable silence with the backdrop of small-talk, before Kakashi risked speaking again.

"Is it just me, or have all the female jounins gone missing?"

---

Naruto released a breath he didn't know he was holding. Sure, his frog purse took quite a hit, but atleast he'd managed to pay for both his and Sakura's meal.

"It was pretty nice." Sakura commented in regard to the food Naruto had ordered for them to share.

"Hehe, yeah, I'm feeling pretty good myself." Naruto stretched his arms overhead before letting them drift back to cradle the back of his head.

Sakura took this as an opening to poke the blond boy in the stomach. "Geeze. You're just about due any time now, huh?" She chuckled to which he joined in.

He thought was just about due too.

---

"What's that, cyclops?" A voice laughed, crossing between being melodic and sneering. "You miss us already?"

All the male ninja looked over their side, mostly surprised at the appearance of all the jounin kunoichi just peering over the divider next to their table.

"You happened to be late attending yesterday's meeting, Kakashi." Iruka politely remarked, taking a sip from his coffee. "Otherwise, you'd know what they were up to."

"Official kunoichi business, broomhead!" Anko stuck out her tongue.

Kakashi sighed and he rolled his visible eye, trying not to pay Anko any attention to mind. Not that the tactic ever worked against Anko anyway.

But it sort of did as Shizune suddenly started. "Isn't that a group of Naruto's friends?" Everyone turned to look at where the medic ninja was facing. And indeed, there were the whole male portions of the rookie nine, Gai's team and the sand brothers.

"Hehe! They look mighty pissed!" Anko commented colourfully.

"You thought they looked pissed..." Asuma indicated to the other end of the street, where another group was approaching from. "Those girls look even angrier."

"Aaawww... And they're all dressed up..." Anko smirked sharply, before her eyes caught on a couple exiting a restaurant across the street.

Easily figuring where all of this was heading and already enjoying the distress that would come of it, she gave everyone else a heads up.

"Looks like today's gonna be interestin' after all!"

---

Naruto was the first to reach the restaurant exit, and he approached the situation like he saw in the movies. He opened the door for Sakura and held it for her to exit. Sakura smiled at this and thanked him. Feeling a little braver, she took hold of his hand as she stepped out and pulled him out with her.

"I had a good time." Sakura blushingly admitted. She couldn't quite meet his eyes, but settled on watching her hand intertwine with his.

"So did I." A goofy grin wouldn't leave Naruto's face as he too was mesmerised by their joined hands.

So enthralled with the other, that they didn't quite notice the large throng of male and female assorted jounin and chuunin watching their every move. They also happened to miss two large groups of their peers approaching from the opposite ends of the street. Approaching with killing intent, actually.

"You know... I'd like it if we did this agai-" Sakura started but was interrupted.

"Naruto!" A booming voice interrupted.

It was rather unfortunate that a particular openly perverted author just happened to step out of the shop right next to theirs.

"I had to stay up ALL NIGHT but I finished the updated second edition of the guide book! Now it covers more things on how to woo that precious person! GWAHAHAHA! This is my best work yet!" Jiraiya excitedly bellowed, whilst pulling a thick leather-bound manual and attempting to shove it into Naruto's hands.

"Hey? What's the matter with you?" Jiraiya worriedly asked, finally noticing Naruto's quickly annoyed demeanor had made a complete 180 and now was starting to look pale, scared and fearful.

Then it was the first time the older man noticed a certain pink-haired female standing right next to Naruto and was turning all shades of red. She wasn't blushing anymore. If anything, she was downright fuming.

Then Jiraiya's pervert-preservation senses kicked in.

Years of peeking on the baths of the many countries had bestowed upon him a worldly collection of perverted wisdom and senses outside of the original five. One new sense of which, had him more tuned in with sensing an angry woman's intent in his direction. At the moment, not only was this sense going off like crazy, the super pervert's hair on his neck was rising on end. Even his long pony-tailed mane was becoming prickly with retribution-fearing anticipation.

And boy did he fear retribution.

He'd isolated the feeling from a large concentrated source behind him as well as a smaller but finer concentrated source just a short distance away. So Jiraiya did the best he could do in this situation.

He decided to escape.

However, in a burst of genius that he'd thought he lost all those years ago when he was in his prime, the aging pervert surprisingly adapts. Quickly taking back the book he'd just put in Naruto's hands, the Toad Sage opens it, places a pen to the inner cover and begins scribbling feverously.

"To my biggest fan, Naruto!" He loudly narrates with desperation as he writes the dedication. "Thanks for helping me write such a great piece of literature for all shinobi men out there! Best of luck to your women troubles, Jiraiya-sensei!"

He practically yelps and thrusts the book back into Naruto's hands. With the action completed, the Super-Pervert bolts like the wind, taking to the rooftops.

Naruto only had time to look up to the crowd closing in, looking to the world like a deer caught in headlights.

To one side, was a very angry-looking crowd of his closest male friends. All looked just about ready to throttle him.

The opposite side had a smaller group of his closest female friends. Each had varying shades of emotion from heart-breaking disappointment to jilted, angry-psycho. The combination of all of them appeared to promise far more pain then the male group could ever hope to dish out.

The blond boy turned helplessly to another direction. This one had a huge group of jounin and chuunin ninja. Every last one of them gave him both looks of pure pity and righteous turn about.

Except for three people.   
Kakashi gave him a good-luck wink (atleast, the blond boy hoped so, it was hard to tell with the other eye covered).   
Tsunade looked like everyone else, but a growing fear was starting to take over her face, as she realised the paperwork that would be involved.   
The last person was Anko. She had the biggest grin on her face, her eyes though unfocused, flickered between all the parties in the area. Actually, she looked like she was just about to cre--

Dropping that line of thought, Naruto turned around. One completely red-faced Sakura-chan was blocking his last avenue of escape. With the way she was still clutching tightly at his hand -which incidentally was growing tighter- Naruto was pretty convinced that she wasn't going to aid him in escaping either.

"NARUTOOOOOOOOO!" Came the united exclamation of many a vengeful voices.

And for once in his life, Naruto wished he wasn't in the centre of attention.

**End of Single Ninja!**  
_Watch out for the sequel; Single Kunoichi on the Prowl, coming soon!_  
**C**onstructive **C**riticism, **F**eedback, **F**lames and all major credit cards accepted! XD   
Also, the **Single Ninja Forum** is now up and about! Feel free drop by with any corrections or suggestions!

* * *

**Author's Notes:**  
And that's that. Whoa... Single Ninja on the Town is finally complete! DONE! WHOOOOO!  
Okay... Gimme a sec. Let me get myself together... 

Did anyone notice what was up with the meal Naruto ordered? Hehe.

Bet some of you are also wondering if this fic had a pairing. In all honesty... No, not really. If you want to get technical, it's Naru/Saku -solely on the fact that he'd got into this mess because of Jiraiya's meddling with his attempted love-life. But ultimately, no pairing.

Let's see... Anything left to say...? Hmmm... The original idea was conceived on the 8th of August of 2005 and it took... what? around seven months!-? Fwar. Even I'm amazed by this. Never expected it to take this long.

The thing was, I never really expected this story to become this large. Infact, it was my supposed retreat from Fox Identity and the seriousness and amount of professionality and effort that required.

But lookie, lookie and see what came and bit me in the ass. XD

Anyway, drop by my Single Ninja forum sometime. I'll be adding a 'Making of Single Ninja' as well as teasers and notes for the upcoming sequel: '_Single Kunoichi on the Prowl!_'  
-Don't expect it too soon though! It's only in its planning stages and I've yet to sort out the kinks. On other news, I'll be back regularly on Fox Identity now!

And the very end is actually based on a True Story.

* * *

**Subtitle** - Epilogue 

"Training's over!" Hatake Kakashi proclaimed, his orange book eliciting a sharp snap as he closed it with one hand. "You are all dismissed!"

The silver-haired jounin then immediately disappeared in a flurry of leaves. His sole intent lay on purchasing the new edition of the Icha Icha series: Come Come Chivalry! A huge volume box set of a young man, whose adventures takes him to meet the woman of his dreams, the shy girl next door, a flower girl of incredible beauty, the bondage mistress and finally the exotic fan dancer! (Little did he know, that further installments also included a personal fantasy instructor, a botanist, the solitary swordswoman, a former pupil of the antagonist and the town's mayor/part-time doctor and her assistant).

And it was claimed to be based on a true story too!

With Kakashi gone, it had left the younger of Team 7's members to their own devices. Haruno Sakura was the quickest to react to Kakashi's dismissal by turning to her dark-haired teammate and procurring a gift-wrapped box from her sachel to present it to Uchiha Sasuke.

"Please take it, Sasuke! It's a completely legitimate piece that all Anbu wear!" The pink-haired girl implored, offering a gift to the dark-haired boy.

"No." He replied crisply. He really wasn't one to accept presents or any sort of thing. His fanclub always gave him trouble, and giving in to anyone would simply be asking for more trouble -simply stealing valuable time he could spend on training.

"It would simply break my heart if you don't accept it!" Sakura resorted to begging.

"I have training to do." Sasuke resolutely stated, ending the conversation.

Sasuke stalked off and Sakura had slumped glumly. At the same instant Naruto had seen the exchange from the distance, but could not discern what had been said between his teammates. He wasn't entirely on speaking terms with Sakura just yet, as she'd usually broadcast a cold aura at him whenever he even got within 5 feet of her.

This was probably due to the mess he was in the middle of 2 weeks ago. The battle (or rather mostly chase, in which the boys were eventually left behind, though his stamina failed in trying to escape from the girls) had caused much property damage, leaving alot of complaints and paperwork for one _VERY_ angry Hokage. She'd soon had everyone's set of events and had sorted it out.

However, much to Naruto's distress, most of his friends had excluded him from their circles. It had taken him the better part of the first week to be accepted by all of the guys again, though the girls were having a harder and longer time in doing so. It had only been up until now that the ladies involved were giving him a little more than the time, though the only exception was being Sakura. His pink-haired teammate was the least forgiving of everyone and though he met her everyday, she had always given him the cold-shoulder, much less the time of day.

And the worst part was, he still didn't understand what he'd done!

"Screw this." Naruto muttered to himself, as he saw Sakura's crest-fallen look. "I don't like seeing her like that, even if she doesn't like me."

"Hey, hey Sakura-chan... Why the sad face?" Naruto concerningly asked, once he'd come over close enough.

Once the pink-haired girl had noticed it was her blond teammate who'd approached her, she had been about to give him her cold-shoulder. However, instead of doing so, she ended up pausing and giving it a think over. She stopped talking to him because she'd been angry that she'd been cheated by a book, rather than Naruto finally doing something right himself. However, a speculative jade eye ran up and down Naruto, taking careful consideration.

Not liking the way she was scrutinising him, the blond ninja went on to ask. "Is something the matter, Sakura-chan?" His voice gave indication to his earnest worries. He really wasn't sure if the way she was looking at him was better or worse than when she was giving him the cold shoulder...

"No... Nothing is wrong, Naruto..." She proceeded to speak slowly, now contemplating a new decision.

The recent memory of a couple of weeks ago had her consider her options. A few talks with the Hokage had forced her to accept the fact that he had been doing it all for her and that his feelings were genuine. Then that whole incident of him accidentally have the other girls notice him, when he'd been trying to date her, had been quite a debacle but she had appreciated the gesture, as much as she'd deny it.

However, though everyone was pissed with the blond boy and after everything was all said and done, the other kunoichi's still hadn't stopped throwing glances down Naruto's way, whenever he wasn't looking. But Sakura noticed and it kind of irked her in a way she couldn't explain...

Then the pink-haired ninja had the most diabolical idea.

"You know, Naruto..." She started.

He nodded enthusiastically, hanging onto her every word.

"I have something I want to give you..."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes widened. His mind briefly flitted to wonder as he couldn't understand how Sakura's attitude had changed so quickly, but he wasn't one to question it now.

"Yep!" Sakura turned around and tore open the box she was holding. "Hold on a second."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this, but patiently waited. Just out of his view, Sakura had pulled out the contents of the present and she'd furiously went over it with a kunai.

Once satisfied, the Haruno daughter turned back around and carefully offered the object to Naruto.

"Please wear it!" She asked of him.

Naruto accepted it with open arms, and found it to be a simple steel necklace with two military dog-tags -similar to the way the ANBU used to have for ways of identification! He immediately put it on without hesitation.

"Thanks a lot, Sakura-chan!" He beamed. "I think they're great!"

"You're welcome, Naruto!" She grinned back.

By coincidence, the light had refracted off a dent in the tags causing it to draw Naruto's attention. Peering down, he realised that one of the tag's had an inscription, other than the expected Leaf insignia. Lifting it up to his face to have a closer look, he read the recently hastily-put, chicken-scratch out loud.

"PROPERTY OF HARUNO SAKURA!-?"

_Life is too short, and even shorter for ninjas! Seek out your beloved and never let them go!_

_Uploaded: February 7th, 2006.  
Updated: October 26th, 2006.  
Updated: January 12th, 2007.  
_


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